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THE Land
Transportation Office (LTO) is set to launch two major
locally developed technological innovations to crack
down on motor-vehicle smuggling and carjacking, as well
as strengthen environmental protection.
LTO
chief Alberto Suansing said these two innovations are
the LTO-Bureau of Customs interconnectivity program and
the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system. Both
innovations will be launched on Thursday, when the LTO
marks its 96th anniversary.
Suansing
said these two programs were developed by the LTO with
Stradcom, its private- sector technology partner in the
LTO Information Technology (LTO-IT) project, using
proven technologies and Filipino know-how. The LTO IT
Project was awarded to Stradcom following a competitive
public bidding process and is the first successful major
government IT project carried out under the
build-own-operate option under the
build-operate-transfer law.
The LTO-Customs
interconnectivity program, known as the Certificate of
Payment Authentication and Verification System (Cpavs),
is the two agencies’ response in the fight against
luxury-car smuggling. Imported vehicles will only be
registered by the LTO after the Cpavs validates that the
owner has paid the necessary taxes and duties to the
customs bureau.
Last
year President Arroyo ordered the destruction of several
smuggled luxury vehicles at the Subic Freeport in
Zambales, and has publicly expressed disappointment over
reports these smuggled cars were registered legitimately
despite the nonpayment of taxes.
Suansing
said the LTO and customs bureau agreed the best way to
crack down on car smugglers is through the motor
vehicles’ registration process.
He added
that the Cpavs enforces the LTO’s mandate under Republic
Act 4136, also known as the Land Transportation and
Traffic Code, which states imported vehicles will only
be registered upon presentation of proof of payment of
taxes and customs duties.
“Under
the Cpavs,” Suansing explained, “the customs bureau will
transmit the certificate of payment [CP] on a real-time
basis. Each CP will be tagged with a unique
identification number to ensure there will be no
duplication of engine and chassis numbers.” Scanned
copies of the CPs will be stored for physical
verification. Suansing also said the LTO cannot make
changes in the CP details, as it will have view-only
access.
Each CP
will be accordingly associated to a specific port of
entry, he added.
The LTO
and Stradcom also jointly developed the RFID, under
which each registered vehicle will be issued a unique
electronic signature. This electronic signature will
contain information that validates the vehicle’s
authenticity, which can be used in enforcing compliance
with safety and environmental regulations, as well as in
law enforcement.
The LTO
said the RFID is an enhancement on the present
motor-vehicle registration system of the LTO.
One
immediate benefit of the RFID sticker is in emissions
testing and road-worthiness inspection centers, where
the vehicle must be physically present or else the
transaction will not proceed. These test centers will be
equipped with an RFID reader, which will be used to
check the vehicle’s details. Once inspections are
completed, the data is uploaded into the LTO Information
System, which can be accessed when the car is
registered.
Suansing
admits one source of corruption is the “nonappearance”
of vehicles at testing centers. With this new system,
Suansing said corruption will be stopped and LTO
revenues to increase are expected to increase.
Another
benefit is in law enforcement, as police and traffic
enforcers can be equipped with handheld scanners to
check on vehicle registration. The system will also help
crack down on carjackers as the police can immediately
check who is the real owner of the car.
The RFID
is scheduled to be implemented toward the middle of
2008. |
