LTO: No citation to be issued over use of temporary plates

CEBU, Philippines — With the implementation of the use of improvised and temporary motor vehicle and motorcycle plates starting today, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has issued official guidelines to inform the public.

Under the latest memorandum from LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II, all motor vehicles and motorcycles using temporary plates will not be issued citation tickets.

“Non-issuance of citation ticket unless cited for other violations," reads the memorandum.

Traffic enforcers, whether from the LTO or other partner agencies, shall take a photo of the official receipt/certificate of registration (OR/CR) and sales invoice of the vehicle or motorcycle.

“The picture shall be endorsed to the Operations Division to verify if the plate was already produced, and if it was, the same shall be located," added the protocol under the memo issued on August 27, 2024.

Upon verification, if the subject plate was already delivered to the dealer, a notice to explain shall be issued to the dealer. If proven that the dealer is at fault, appropriate penalties and sanctions shall be imposed.

Likewise, if the dealer can show proof that the plate was already delivered to the owner before being flagged down, a show cause order shall be issued to the owner for violation of failure to attach plates under Section II (e) of JAO 2014-01, and they will be penalized with P5,000.

The memo also stipulates that authorization to use improvised plates shall only be signed by the concerned LTO office where the duplicate plate request was processed; the signature of the Assistant Secretary is no longer necessary.

Improvised plates are for motor vehicles and motorcycles whose owners were already issued LTO plates but are awaiting the replacement of their lost, mutilated, or defaced LTO-issued plates. Authorization serves as proof that they requested the replacement of their issued plate from any LTO office.

To recall, on July 1, 2024, the LTO issued Memorandum Circular No. VDM-2024-2721, which outlines the guidelines for the use of improvised and temporary motor vehicle/motorcycle plates nationwide.

Under the memorandum, all new four-wheeled motor vehicles can only use temporary plates within a period of 15 days from the issuance of the sales invoice. The temporary plate should reflect the assigned conduction sticker number.

The use of temporary plates for motorcycles shall only be allowed for units purchased before January 1, 2023.

For new motorcycles or those purchased after the effectivity of the memo, the use of temporary plates shall be valid only within a period of 15 days from the issuance of the sales invoice as specified under the memo. — (FREEMAN)