With news of the LTO announcing that DIY (Do It Yourself) plates should be the alternative during this shortage spreading like wildfire, the Land Transportation Office has released a statement to clarify what this means. So are we really allowed to just make everything at home and consider it road-legal?
Discussing with the public was LTO chief Jay Art Tugade. The shortage of not only licenses but also license plates is a genuine concern. The agency has brainstormed many contingencies and the most viable option they’ve considered is having road users create their own plates for now. These temporary plates will require authorization by a gov’t official by matching it to the vehicle’s OR/CR documents. Although we’re not quite sure how this whole thing will be conducted as of now.
It’s clear that the LTO is avoiding having to resort to DIY plates for now – as cross-checking everyone is a laborious task.
A more recent statement brought forth more clarifications to the agency’s proposed policies. For new cars, only dealers are allowed to issue temporary plates which should adhere to the LTO’s rules and regulations. General consumers of new cars are NOT allowed to print their own plate numbers for legal and security reasons.
Having a DIY plate legally has to fulfill certain conditions. Firstly, the vehicle should have had an existing plate that was either lost or dilapidated beyond recognition. After that, the road-user must have the DIY plate authorized by the LTO by undergoing a certain process (that has yet to be confirmed). Lastly, it must have a “LOST PLATE” phrase on the DIY plate in a design that’s easily recognizable by the LTO.
“Kailangan ding dalhin ng may-ari ng sasakyan ang kanyang Official Receipt at Certificate of Registration upang sakaling masita ng mga law enforcer sa posibleng paglabag sa batas-trapiko ay mayruong maipapakitang dokumento,” said Tugade.
Anyone who uses a DIY plate without LTO authorization will be fined. So if people have plates that are too broken down to be recognized, they must both apply for a new plate and for authorization of their DIY plate at the agency’s headquarters. Although that “new plate” might be coming much later on in time.
What do you think of these practices? Let us know!
