Of LTO directors and plates

GOVERNMENT agencies known for corruption will always carry that blight no matter who sits as head. Filipinos seem to be resigned to the reality that “pareho silang lahat,” leaving no room for possible good leaders. The Land Transportation Office in Region 10 is one.

Let me just go back to the day when Esteban Baltazar was being replaced by Porcawa Dia as regional director for LTO in the region. Baltazar refused to vacate his position, and the commotion it created sent the then Mayor Dongkoy Emano to the scene like “Rambotito” (apologies to VP Binay). Dia eventually won over Baltazar.

The public expectation was the LTO regional office was going to be worst under Dia. But I think Dia was the most respectable LTO regional director I’ve ever met. He retired the same man as he was while in position, humble and free of any guilt. Baltazar returned but he didn’t last long. He was removed for unclear reasons. Everyone was left speculating about who was going to replace him.

In 2012, Hilarion Ulep breezed to town with an order as LTO regional director. He arrived in October 2012 and took over in November 2012 amid speculations of an attempt to stop his appointment. A demolition campaign was resorted to but without success.

When our CDO-CRCD group paid him a courtesy call, my first impression was that, “Hey, this guy looks like a toughie.” He is. But his first statement that impressed me was, “Hindi ako nagmamalinis, pero hindi ako garapal.” His honesty is to me a good start.

Three years later, complaints from friends and acquaintances compelled me to ask for a one-on-one interview with him. He obliged but with his key people around. Top on my list was the issue on new plates and the features that go with it.

The new plates are thicker and in aluminum substrate 1100 (.2mm thicker), have a bar code, with hologram of LTO logo and safety bolts that are supposed to be installed by LTO men. All these are to ensure the safety of our vehicles from being tampered, stolen or used in crime.

The bar code on the upper left corner would provide all the details about the vehicles––the owner, the day it was bought, where it is registered, year model, engine and chasis number, and all other needed information. Of course, they have a bar-code reader.

The safety bolts are used to avoid tampering with the plates. The bolts are so designed that the necks are tapered to a certain measurement that breaks when the limit of strength in locking is reached. Anything wrong about it makes the vehicle suspicious. Of late, this seems to have been given to the car dealers to do.

The hologram is like our watermarked currency. It is another security feature. The winning bidder to supply is a foreign outfit and the plates being manufactured in The Netherlands.

This issue alone has been the subject of ridicule by car owners, insinuating that the absence or lack of supply is deliberate. Whether you believe it or not, the car dealers are to blame because some of their enterprising representatives are the ones withholding the plates.

Admittedly, the supply shortage has something to do with an intervention by a lawmaker but would soon be ironed out. We are reminded that the regional directors are not the ones who design policies but merely implementers.