LTO Chief Lawyer Teofilo ‘Jojo’ Guadiz III (center), LTO-Region 6 Director Eric E. Leonardo Tabaldo (right), and LTO-Region 12 Director Macariola D. Gonzaga. Contributed photo.
Guadiz to ‘work doubly’ to fix issues in LTO
NEWLY-appointed Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief Atty. Teofilo “Jojo” Guadiz, III, on Friday vowed to “work doubly” hard to fix the numerous problems hounding the agency, particularly the issue with its Information Technology (IT) provider and the renewal of driver’s license and license plates for motorcycles.
Guadiz made the remark following a press briefing with reporters as he convened for the first time all regional directors and representatives of the agency in a conference held at the Sequoia Hotel, Quezon City, from August 4 to 5.
“The number 1 issue is the issue on IT (Information technology firms providing connectivity and computer services). Bumabagal po ang proseso, humahaba po ang pila sa mga district offices so we really have to address and we will revisit the IT providers dahil noong araw po it only takes about two hours to renew a driver’s license now its takes five days, six days. So, there must be something to be done to address. Yan po ang unang-una namin pinag-uusapan ngayon,” Guadiz told reporters.
“Number 2 po is the issue on driver’s license. Napansin po namin during the previous administration masyadong mahaba yung proseso, masyadong mahal ‘pag kumuha ka ng bagong driver’s license at mag-renew. Perhaps we should revisit everything, we should review para naman po maging mura… when I say ‘mura’ kaya ng common tao yung presyo and it is not so tedious kasi sa ngayon to get a driver’s license it will take you at least a week – three days yung theoretical driving course, two days yung practical driving course or yung practical driving, then you will go to the LTO for your written exam and practical exam,” the LTO chief said
“I think this should be cut short, we should compress this, and then we should make the process as cheap as possible for the common tao. Yun ho ang mga issues na tinatalakay po namin and of course we have one big issue, the issue on the plates,” he stressed.
Guadiz said another problem he and the agency need to address is the backlog on the distribution of plate numbers, particularly for motorcycles.
“Meron pa ho kaming shortage ng mga plates I think which the previous administration may not admit pero yung backlog po namin nung plates is still there. I think there are about ten or 11 million backlogs for motorcycles. In fairness po sa mga apat na gulong po, updated na po kami. As you register you can get your plate number within 24 hours pero sa mga motorsiklo ho may backlog kami ng 2017, 2016,” Guadiz said.
“May mga motor nga wala na sa circulation hindi pa nabibigay ang mga plaka. This is something I would like to address within my first 90 days. Not really to totally solve but with proposals to come out with possible solutions, all these things to be resolved, and I hope to see a resolution at least in my first year in office,” he said.
At least 15 LTO regional directors from the National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and Caraga Region (Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and the Province of Dinagat Islands) attended the two-day conference.
Each regional director presented a status report on implementing various LTO projects and the challenges and issues they currently face within their jurisdiction.
The conference, Guadiz said, was also used as a venue for the LTO to review its existing programs and craft new policies to address the pressing issues in the land transportation sector.
Guadiz has earlier announced that his term will focus on improving LTO transactions and curbing corruption within the agency.
