IT firm corners computer fees for LTO services

Information technology firm Stradcom Corp. has established a near monopoly of all computer and interconnectivity services at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) despite weaknesses in its systems.

Sources told The STAR that Stradcom rakes in billions of pesos as the exclusive provider of computer services in the registration of motor vehicles, the issuance of driver’s licenses and permits, and smoke emission tests for the entire LTO network.

Stradcom collects a computer fee of P132 per motor vehicles registered or renewed at the LTO each year; P30 for every drivers’ license or student permit issued; and P25 for every mandatory smoke emission test that is conducted for the registration and renewal of motor vehicles.

LTO figures showed that in 2007, Stradcom handled 9,073,113 motor vehicle registration transactions and collected P1.2 billion, not including the P226 million in computer fees for the smoke emission tests.

LTO records showed that Stradcom handled 5,587,423 driver’s license and student permit transactions for P167 million in computer fees.

The Commission on Audit, (COA), in its 2006 audit of the LTO, however, called the LTO’s attention to the “delays” in Stradcom’s computer system, which has resulted in manual uploading of transactions at the LTO offices.

The COA has even recommended that penalties be imposed on Stradcom for the delays, which prevented the government from conducting efficient and effective verification.

In August 2007, Stradcom was also appointed by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to provide computerized authentication and verification services in the issuance of compulsory third party liability (CTPL) insurance certificates of coverage (COCs).

Despite the LTO’s admission that fake CTPL COCs continue to be issued by fly-by-night insurance firms at the LTO that led the DOTC to launch their controversial integrated CTPL insurance issuance program with the help of the Government Service Insurance System, Stradcom has still been retained to provide computerized authentication and verification of CTPL COCs that will be issued under the program.

However, LTO Assistant Secretary Bert Suansing said that Stradcom was only authenticating and verifying CTPL COCs since August 2007 under an “interim” arrangement since the five-year contract of the previous service provider, DTEC, had expired at that time.

Suansing said that Stradcom was not to blame for the fake CTPL COCs or misuse of the CTPL COCs at the LTO.

“That’s not the fault of Stradcom. That’s the fault of insurance companies through their agents,” Suansing told The STAR.