LTO Wants the Vehicle Registration Process Up Online ASAP

(SPOT.ph) If you haven't been keeping up with the news, motoring in the Philippines is once again hitting new levels of unbearable, with the return of face-to-face classes and the general roll-out of this "new normal" that's long been touted. Between road closures, illegal parking regulations, and reduction of number coding exemptions, it's no wonder that all of us have, at one point, gazed up to the sky and wondered, "Wouldn't it be nice if a helicopter came to save us from this peril of traffic?"

While solutions to motoring problems have been presented and enacted over the past couple of months, the Land Transportation Office is looking beyond the roads and to the processes that take place before a driver even gets behind the wheel. Yup, they're looking at the infamously tedious processes of renewing your driver's license and even registering your vehicle—promising-but-not-really-promising that these transactions could soon happen online instead.

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Here's what LTO has to say about online registration and license renewal features:

While addressing the recent glitch that caused a backlog in their transactions and processes, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) Legal Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary Attorney Alex Abaton spoke about the enhancements and changes they're exploring in order to make the processes of vehicle registration, student permit acquisition, and driver's license renewal run faster.

"Tinitignan na po natin ngayon yung feature ng online renewal ng driver’s license. Hopefully, pati na rin po yung online registration ng ating mga motor vehicles," Abaton stated in a Laging Handa public briefing on Friday, September 16. "Bahagi po ito doon sa mga programa na, kumbaga, gusto nating marating sa madaling panahon. Alam naman natin yung technologies available nowadays and we want to take advantage of all these improvements."

"Kasama iyon doon sa mga programa na hinihimay ng ating tanggapan ngayon para masiguro na hindi maulit yung mga pagbagal doon sa ating pagkuha ng lisensya o pag-renew ng registration ng kanilang mga sasakyan."

Currently, vehicle owners and motorists acquire their registration stickers, license plates, student permits, and driver's license by going through the registration processes in-person at LTO offices. However, a few months into 2020's lockdown, LTO began experimenting with online features by setting up a portal wherein registrants could complete the first few steps of certain processes, primarily renewing driver's licenses, without having to physically show up on location.

While no concrete plans or timelines have been given, LTO is expected to move forward with these enhancements, as it would address their current major issues of performance speed and illegal, under-the-table transactions.

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For more information, check out LTO's Facebook page.

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