LTO to digitalize issuance of traffic citation tickets

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office will deploy thousands of handheld devices to enforcers to digitalize the issuance of citation tickets to traffic violators, LTO chief Jose Arturo Tugade announced yesterday.

Tugade attended a refresher course on the “Law Enforcement Handheld Mobile Device” for enforcers at the agency’s central office in Quezon City yesterday.

These devices may be used by LTO enforcers to automatically issue electronic temporary operator’s permit (TOP) to traffic violators, doing away with manual citation of tickets, Tugade told reporters.

“We will no longer issue manual TOPs, and instead use this device to issue tickets to erring motorists,” he said.

At least 1,200 handheld devices will be deployed all over the country as part of the LTO’s efforts to digitalize the agency and reduce opportunities for corruption.

“The minute the violation is entered in, the enforcer cannot edit it and can no longer negotiate about the infraction of the traffic violator,” Tugade said.

In cases of lost receipts, the errant motorists may still pay the fines because their names have been entered in the LTO’s database, Tugade added.

The LTO also aims to make the payment of citation tickets digital by allowing violators to pay their fines on the spot.

The second phase of the digitalization project is the cashless payment through the mobile handheld device, which has a feature to scan QR codes and has a swiper for credit card payments, allowing the public to pay fines without needing to surrender their licenses, Tugade said.

The digitalization of the issuance of citation tickets also seeks to help the government increase the collection revenue from payments of traffic violations, according to LTO executive director Giovanni Lopez.

Only enforcers from the LTO will use the digital handheld devices, Tugade clarified.

The LTO is in the process of coordinating with local government units and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority in implementing a single ticketing system within the year.