LTO told to return P29M in RFID fees

CEBU, Philippines - The Commission on Audit said the Land Transportation Office must return the P29 million that it had collected from vehicle owners for the so-called Radio Frequency Identification sticker because the project did not push through.

Records show that of the P29.8 million in RFID fees collected from the thousands of motorists nationwide, P2,199,050 was collected from motor vehicle owners in Cebu and in other parts of the region.

COA said that the collection of the P350 RFID fee for every vehicle was considered highly questionable because the project was still not complete when the LTO implemented it in November 2009.

Because of the mounting public complaints, the Supreme Court suspended the implementation of the project on January 12, 2010 pending further orders from the High Tribunal.

The RFID system would have allowed authorities to determine the registry of any vehicle by way of frequency waves.

Each sticker would be mounted on the vehicle’s windshield and can be read electronically by hand-held readers used by traffic enforcers even at speeds as high as 140 kilometer per hour.

Many motorists were afraid that the installation of RFID stickers in their vehicles might allow unscrupulous persons to identify potential targets and they questioned the matter before the Supreme Court.

But the LTO officials explained that the main target of the implementation of the RFID are the erring drivers and unregistered vehicles.

It also reduces the need for human intervention in the registration process and thereby eliminates the need for fixers and also encourages vehicles to be submitted for roadworthiness and emission testing.

COA, however, argued that the collection of such fees from motor vehicle owners violates section 88 of the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines.

“The government or for this matter, the public, shall not be obliged to make an advance payment for services not yet rendered. The public through the LTO cannot be made to pay for services not yet rendered by the LTO intellectual technology provider,” COA said.

LTO-7 regional director Raul Aguilos said they will just wait of any order about the matter, particularly how they will return the amount to vehicle owners. (THE FREEMAN)