Any plans to head up to Baguio City soon? Well, you had better make sure your car is properly identified before you embark on your road trip.
The Baguio City Council has passed an ordinance that will prohibit cars without a license plate from plying the Summer Capital's streets. There is, however, some leeway here for motorists who are still waiting for their vehicles' plates to be released, as other forms of vehicle identification such as a conduction sticker, a motor-vehicle file number, or an improvised registration plate permitted by the Land Transportation Office will be recognized by local traffic authorities.
Motorists found to be in violation of this measure will face a P2,000 fine. This climbs to P5,000 if a vehicle is caught using a plate number, conduction sticker, motor-vehicle file number, or temporary registration plate other than the one issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
Also worth noting is that vehicles with their license plates removed because of a traffic violation are exempt from this ordinance. In these cases, though, the motorist must be able to present a temporary operator's permit or a traffic citation issued within 72 hours of apprehension.
According to the Baguio City Engineering Office-Traffic and Transport Management Division, thousands of license plates confiscated due to traffic violations have yet to be claimed by their owners. The reason for this? High penalties the owners will have to pay to get their plates back.
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