MANILA — Vehicle dealers and importers will soon face steeper penalties for fraudulent vehicle registration following the amendment of an administrative order by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

In a statement, LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza announced that the amendment, greenlit by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista, aims to bolster sanctions against manufacturers, assemblers, importers, rebuilders, dealers, and other entities (MAIRDOEs) authorized to import motor vehicles and components.

These escalated penalties will target individuals or entities engaging in fraud and misrepresentation during application filing and operations, including stock and sales reporting. Additionally, penalties will be imposed for the submission of fraudulent, fake, or falsified stock/sales periodic reports as mandated by law.

For a first offense of either violation, the penalty includes suspension of the Certificate of Accreditation (COA) for up to six months, a fine of PHP500,000, and revocation of the Certificate of Stock Reported (CSR), sales report, and vehicle registrations associated with the violation.

Subsequent offenses will lead to more severe penalties, including COA cancellation, a one-year blacklisting from the finality of the cancellation order, and revocation of CSR, sales reports, and vehicle registrations.

Mendoza emphasized that the LTO reserves the right to pursue criminal charges against individuals or entities committing these serious offenses.

Given the classification of both offenses as “serious,” a 90-day preventive suspension will be imposed starting upon receipt of a show cause order from the LTO.

In the same administrative order approved by Bautista, less severe offenses were identified, such as failure to comply with standard requirements and other laws related to MAIRDOE business operations, and allowing unauthorized entities to use its accreditation.

Penalties for these offenses include PHP100,000 for first offense, PHP500,000 for second offense, and PHP1 million for third offense. A fourth offense will result in COA cancellation and a one-year blacklisting period.

Mendoza stressed that these stricter penalties aim to compel MAIRDOEs to adhere to rules and regulations. He cited fraudulent transactions involving two Bugatti Chiron vehicles as an “eye-opener” prompting the review of existing policies and the adjustment of penalties deemed inadequate.

(el Amig/MNM)

By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has on Monday (27 Nov 2023) disclosed that over 60 percent of the total number of vehicles — amounting to 14 million — are currently unregistered.

Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza of LTO emphasized that out of the 38 million vehicles, 14 million are yet to be registered.

Mendoza cited factors such as the ongoing pandemic and the prolonged non-use of some vehicles.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them have been scrapped, especially motorcycles that may no longer be operational due to the passage of time. We will be excluding those from our numbers and ensuring data accuracy. Currently, these are the ones we are pursuing,” stated Mendoza.

The government is estimated to be losing between P37 billion to P38 billion this year due to the large number of unregistered vehicles, as mentioned by Mendoza.

“LTO’s target for this year is P31 billion. If we succeed, and considering the tight timeline at the end of the year, theoretically, it could mean an additional P37 billion,” added the official.

To address the issue of unregistered vehicles, LTO plans to implement stricter checkpoints as part of its proactive measures.

(ai/mnm)

Ni Liezelle Soriano

IBINALIK na sa puwesto si Teofilo Guadiz III bilang chairperson ng Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) matapos bawiin ng testigo ang kanyang sinumpaang salaysay laban sa opisyal.

Sinabi ng Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) na inalis na ang suspensiyon kay Guadiz makaraang bawiin ni dating LTFRB aide Jefferson Tumbado ang mga paratang ng katiwalian laban kina Guadiz at Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.

“The Office of the President lifted the suspension order imposed upon LTFRB Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III after Jefferson Gallos Tumbado, who appears to be the sole witness in his case, executed an Affidavit of Recantation withdrawing his statements and allegations against him,” pahayag ng OES.

“As such there stands no reason to place Chairperson Guadiz under preventive suspension unless a supervening event maintaining the same accusations against him are put forth before the OP,” dagdag pa nito.

Inaasahang babalik na sa opisina si Guadiz sa Lunes, Nobyembre 6.

Matatandaang inakusahan ni Tumbado si Guadiz na sangkot umano sa mga katiwalian ngunit kalauna’y binawi rin niya ang akusasyon.

(ai/mnm)

“HATAW” ang tawag sa mga pasaway na jeepney drivers na kung makaasta ay parang sarili nila ang kalsada at walang respeto sa mga batas ng kalsada at sa kanilang mga kapwa motorista.

Ito ang naaktuhan ng Maharlika NuMedia sa bahaging ito ng Quirino Ave. sa Quezon City, malinaw na makikita ang tahasang pag-counterflow ng mga jeepney driver na patungong Novaliches, Blumentritt kung kaya nakisali na rin ang mga pribadong sasakyan at motorsiklo.

Napag-alaman din ng MNM na nawawala ang mga enforcer o kahit na isang tauhan man lang sana ng barangay na dapat sana’y nagpapatupad ng kaayusan sa trapiko sa mga lugar kung saan madalas mangyari ang mga aksidente dulot ng mga pasaway na pampasaherong jeepney drivers na gumagamit ng maling linya.

Nakunan din ng mismong video Man-On-The-Street (MOTS) photographer/videographer at MNM reporter na si Benj Cuaresma na nagtiyagang umantabay mula alas-3 ng hapon hanggang alas-7 ng gabi upang maipakita mismo sa atin kung gaano kadelikado ang ginagawang counterflow ng mga jeep at kung paano nila nilalabag ang mga batas sa trapiko, at walang respeto sa kanilang kapwa motorista.

(ai/mnm)