Recto: It’s LTO that ‘needs restraints’

“It is the LTO (Land Transportation Office) that needs restraints,” according to Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.

“Who needs restraint the most? People in the LTO driver’s seat,” he said in a statement in response to controversies facing LTO, which drew outrage over the implementation of a law requiring motorists to install child car seats on their vehicles when transporting young children.

Recto pointed to the agency as the one “behind the epidemic of new fees. It has become a super spreader of high fines.”

“There is confusion in the rules it issues. The lack of coherence of which is the regulatory equivalent of distracted driving,” he said.

“Atras-abante sa multa sa face shields. Pero lumalabas na ‘swerving’ naman pala ito sa alituntunin ng IATF,” Recto lamented.

“Rollout of the Motor Vehicle Inspection System has been marred by chaos. And before that, it branched out into education, by mandating that driver applicants must be tuition-paying graduates of driving schools,” he said.

“In the not-so-distant past, perfectly good car plates were yanked out in favor of new ones, which arrived late and which should be installed with new bolts as if these were made with space technology,” Recto said.

“And then there was the case of licenses and stickers, which took longer to produce than space rockets,” he said.

“Through the years, we have watched how a big diversified downstream industry run by private companies who profit from regulations has grown,” he said.

“But let me be clear: Many of these programs have laudable intentions, but the implementation is far from lovable,” he said.

“Ang problema kasi, full speed ahead sa mga programa na hindi man lang bumubusina. Widespread consultations do no harm. Policies are like cars–they should be road tested and subjected to independent review,” Recto said.

“But most important, it should be tempered with compassion. Yes, bad driving must be punished, and car ownership and operation incur licensing expenses, but the affordability quotient must be studied in every fee and fine imposed,” he said.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)