BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Transportation in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DOTr-CAR) is confident that the local government units (LGUs) in the region will see the importance of synching their apprehension reports with that of the department as an initiative to educate drivers and motor vehicle owners to always follow the road laws.
“Kapag naka synchronize kasi ang apprehension report nila sa LTO (Land Transportation Office) makikita nila ang violation nila kapag nag renew sila ng lisensiya at baka kailanganin na mag-undergo sila ng seminar bago maka kuha ng lisensiya (if records are synchronized with the LTO, they will see their violations when they renew their license which may require a seminar before they can renew their driver’s license),” said Francis Rae Almora, OIC of the DOTR-CAR and the regional director of the LTO-CAR in an interview on Wednesday.
He said that the primary goal is to make compliance with road rules and laws important because drivers and motor vehicle owners not just be penalized with fines emanating from violations, but will be required to undergo a seminar if the person reaches the demerits that bar outright renewal.
Almora said, “it is not just the fine we are after, but more importantly, making the public follow the road laws and rules that we are after.”
The director said that road crashes and even road rages happen because of drivers who do not give importance to compliance with laws.
“This is more of information education for the public. If they know that their violation is being recorded, hopefully, they will be very cautious and will not violate,” Almora said.
He added that the LTO has limited personnel to implement traffic laws and regulations but the local government units, and the police assigned in the localities have more personnel allowing them to check on violations and being recorded with the LTO.
It can be remembered that the DOTR-LTO issued new guidelines before a driver can be issued a license that is valid for 10 years.
“If they don’t have violations, they get the ten-years validity. If a violation is recorded even if they are committed and apprehended by the local enforcers, then it forms part of the records, giving them a lesson to not repeat a violation,” Almora further said.
Earlier, League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) president and La Paz, Abra mayor Joseph Sto. Niño Bernos during the launching of the LTO district office in Abra said he was apprehended in Pampanga for a violation of a minor road regulation but saw the apprehension when he renewed his license in Abra.
“Maganda yun kasi nagiging conscious tayo na kahit saan sa Pilipinas pa tayo mag-violate kapag nag renew tayo ng lisensiya kahit hindi sa parehas na lugar, lalabas ang violation at may epekto iyon sa license kaya matututo tayo na hindi na ulit mag-violate (that is good because it will create a consciousness that a violation committed anywhere in the Philippines when renewing your license even if not in the same place will show the violation committed and it will prevent us from committing a violation again),” Bernos said.
He added that the LMP has an ongoing digitization program of the systems in the local government units which they will, later on, link with the national government agencies for ease of transacting business in any government office.
The Department of Transportation-Land Transportation Office in the Cordillera (DOTr/LTO-CAR) is confident the local government units will soon synchronize their land record on transportation and road regulation violations with the department to help educate the drivers on the importance of following the laws. Francis Rae Almora, regional director of the DOTR/LTO-CAR in an interview on Wednesday said that knowledge that an apprehended for even the slightest violation will be reflected in the system and will be the basis for a denial of an outright renewal of a driver’s license will make the drivers cautious and avoid a violation
