PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Mayor Lucilo Bayron here recently vetoed a City Council resolution urging the strict implementation of an existing “No Plate Number, No Travel” ordinance.
In his veto message, Bayron dismissed the resolution as “unfair or oppressive and impartial or discriminatory” considering that the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has been struggling in issuing plates to motorists.
Councilor Henry Gadiano, who authored the resolution in a bid to deter potential criminal activities particularly the riding-in-tandem shooting, said he respects and understands the mayor’s decision.
“The mayor sees the LTO’s not being ready to provide official plates that’s why he said if we’re going to implement this, it would be unfair to those who exerted effort but can’t comply,” Gadiano said Friday.
Reports reaching the councilor said motorists, who registered their vehicles with the LTO, were told to wait for two years before receiving the plates.
“Even with the absence of LTO official plate number, the motorists are required to use instead the vehicle dealer-issued temporary plate number. What’s important here is their vehicles will not go out without identification,” he said.
In November 2017, Gadiano filed the resolution, following fateful incidents when criminals used unmarked vehicles or those with fake license plates.
When strictly observed, among other prohibited acts of this ordinance are the use of fake and expired plate numbers, and driving vehicles bearing only the dealer’s number plate indicating the name of the store or dealer, without the conduction sticker.
Violation of the ordinance has a corresponding fine ranging from PHP1,000 to PHP5,000 including possible imprisonment.
The ordinance was based on Section 18 of the Republic Act No. 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code requiring motor vehicles to display number plates on their front and rear parts.
Now that his resolution has been referred back to the City Council’s transportation committee during its regular session on Monday, Gadiano said he will re-file it once the LTO resolves the plate backlog problem. (Keith Anthony Fabro/PNA)
