Wrong timing for ‘no plate, no travel’ policy

The timing of the DOTC/LTO’s “no plate, no travel policy” couldn’t have been worse – on April 1st in fact – reinforcing perceptions that fools must be running the Transportation department. Only heaven knows why the bright boys at DOTC decided to implement the policy at a time when people need their cars to travel for the Holy Week and go home to their provinces or other destinations outside of the metropolis. 

Everyone knows it took the LTO so many years to come up with a new design for license plates and even then, the backlog continues not only in the issuance of new license plates, but even registration stickers. This really “smart move” puts the burden on vehicle owners especially the new ones who now find themselves taking, a “staycation” instead of the five-day vacation that they have been anticipating.

Per LTO directive, those who are not able to show registration papers or documents to prove that they are undergoing the seven-day registration process would be fined P10,000. On the other hand, those who drive unregistered vehicles would be made to pay P1,000. Even if owners have registration papers, it’s still a lot of hassle to be pulled over by LTO agents or deputized enforcers, a number of whom are still afflicted with the “kotong” mentality.

As usual, we hear a lot of finger pointing and blame shifting, with the LTO claiming that the culprits are Metro Manila car dealers who either allegedly hoard applications before submitting them in bulk to the LTO, or for some reason supposedly delay the release of car license plates. However, these reasons don’t really fly with enraged vehicle owners who point the finger at the LTO and the DOTC whose chief is being christened with a lot of unflattering nicknames.

In the first place, why would dealers intentionally delay the release of license plates to car owners if these are already available?  As for the hoarding, some dealers counter that it’s the LTO (certain branches of the agency) that allegedly “sits” on the applications to force dealers to shell out certain incentives that would facilitate the registration.

Complaints are also pouring in from car owners who claim that the LTO is taking its own sweet time in issuing stickers for registration renewals and the issuance of “new-old” license plates. It can be recalled that the LTO embarked on a Plate Standardization Program wherein car owners are required to replace their old license plates with the new design upon renewal, with the new plates to be made available after 45 days. But judging from the numerous complaints we have heard, it apparently takes more than 45 days for the new plates to become available – with vehicle owners getting angrier every time they inquire from the LTO and get the stock answer of “wala pa” (no plate yet).

Another half a million graduates looking for a job

More than half a million graduates this year will join the ranks of job hunters, but it’s almost certain that only a small percentage will be able to successfully land a job that fits their training or qualification. According to the Commission on Higher Education, an estimated 656,284 will graduate this school year – almost 10 percent higher than the 605,375 who graduated the previous academic year.

Despite the growing economy and the creation of more than one million jobs over a year ago, unemployment is still prevalent with a 6.6 percent jobless rate this January – higher than the October 2014 figure of six percent. An earlier report from Jobstreet said that those who can look forward to good paying jobs are graduates of information technology and those with computer hardware/software knowhow.

Some of the most in-demand jobs are from the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, considered a sunshine industry in the Philippines especially with news that we have dislodged India as the call center capital of the world. Just recently, Colorado-based firm StarTek put up a state-of-the-art BPO hub in Pasig City, and it is expected to generate about 2,000 new jobs for college grads.

According to Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, this development underscores the confidence of American firms in the Filipino workforce – whose added advantage aside from patience in dealing with customers, is their ability to speak English in accents that approximate that of Americans’. The labor-intensive IT-BPO sector is projected to directly employ up to 1.3 million Filipinos and generate some $26 billion in annual revenues by 2016.

However, the job market is still tight, and the challenge according to economists is how to ensure the sustainable creation of employment in other sectors especially the low income ones. One of the reasons why Filipinos continue to work overseas is due to the fact that good paying jobs are still hard to come by – the kind that would enable people to support their families’ basic needs and still allow them to save a little something for the proverbial rainy days that are sure to come.

Property exposure triggers fears of new Asian financial crisis

News about local banks’ increased exposure to the real estate sector in 2014 – placed at a record high of over P1.2 trillion – is driving concerns about a possible bubble that could burst, just like what happened during the 1997 Asian financial crisis that started when Thailand found itself saddled by overextended debts in the property sector. The Philipppines could find itself in a similar situation because of banks’ overexposure to real estate loans and investments, and if prices shoot up to unmanageable proportions, it could trigger a crash in the market. While the BSP has imposed new regulations to keep price increases  at manageable levels, it should consider the warning from economists that Southeast Asia – despite being a bright spot for growth – could be vulnerable to ballooning credit and asset bubbles.

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