Last week, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced that the agency lost around PHP 37 billion in income. Based on their data, this loss was mainly due to the significant decrease in the number of registration renewals from both motorcycle and vehicle owners.

LTO says that about 65% of all vehicles plying the roads have delinquent or expired registrations. To compel (i.e. force) motorists to renew their motorcycle or vehicle’s registration with the agency, LTO chief, Atty. Vigor Mendoza II has already instructed all regional directors to “start fielding as many of its enforcers” to implement the ‘No registration, No travel’ policy.

The directive was based on the instruction of Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista to strictly implement the Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Act, especially Section 5 which states the compulsory registration of all motor vehicles.

“This provision clearly states that no motor vehicle shall be used, driven, or operated on the roads without being currently registered with the LTO,” said Mendoza.

He explained that the registration of motor vehicles comes with routine checks on the roadworthiness to ensure the safety of all road users.

Would this mean more random LTO checkpoints on national roads?