TMG to recall special car plates

The Traffic Management Group said yesterday it would recall all the "TMG Cares" commemorative plates, which the Land Transportation Office (LTO) declared as "unauthorized."

TMG chief Gen. Ricardo Quinto they earlier asked the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to authorize them to sell the commemorative plates, starting last January, but it did not pass through the LTO.

"Sa pagkakaintindi ko hindi po dumaan ng LTO when we issued this last January, but we’ve stopped this. I’ve ordered the regional office to recall the plates," Quinto said during Vice President Noli de Castro’s "Para Sa’yo Bayan" radio program.

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Anneli Lontoc said during the program that the agency did not authorize the issuance of TMG commemorative plates, which are sold for P1,500 each. The proceeds were intended for the educational program for its undergraduate employees who want to continue their studies.

Lontoc said only the commemorative plates of the Congregation of St. Paul, UP College of Medicine, SEA Games and the Feminist Movement of the Philippines remain valid.

Quinto said the TMG had requested 300 commemorative plates, but reports showed that more than 20,000 plates have been sold.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Director Angelito Vergel de Dios said the TMG has been coordinating with them, but only recently, in the flagging down of vehicles with TMG commemorative plates on EDSA.

Serious concerns have been raised over the use of commemorative plates which are often used in criminal activities such as car theft and kidnapping. – Pia Lee-Brago