MANILA—The Land Transportation Office (LTO), less than 10 months after the launch of an online payment system for car dealers, collected more than PHP1.117 billion from online payments alone.
Lawyer Clarence V. Guinto, LTO-National Capital Region West regional director, said the amount was collected as part of their compliance with Republic Act (RA) 11032, known as the Ease of Doing Business Act or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.
“We thought of putting technology in the system and we started October 1, 2018, and we found out that as of June 30, 2019, we already collected through that online payment system an amount of more than PHP1.117 billion. So, we eliminated human intervention—car dealers, liaisons, representatives need not go to the LTO office anymore to register the motor vehicle,” Guinto said in a phone interview.
The transportation official said the current web-based system which has reduced motor vehicle registration processing time from seven days to three days is just the start of a comprehensive online payment system that they hope would eventually take over the majority of the LTO’s annual PHP24 billion collection.
“LTO annually collects about PHP24 billion, and sabi ko nga (what I said before), PHP23 billion to go. Saan pa galing yung ibang collection (Where did other collections come from?) Number one, this is only implemented in NCR, hopefully in the very near future, this will be implemented nationwide,” Guinto said.
Aside from collecting payments from car dealers, the LTO hopes to accommodate the rest of the driving public through an online payment system that would not only cater to those who want to register a motor vehicle or renew their license but would also collect payments for traffic violations.
“When you register your motor vehicle every year or when you renew your license, every five years yung sa ngayon (for now), prior to going to LTO office, you may pay now through online. That’s in the pipeline now. Or even when you are issued citation tickets, and then you admit the citation, the traffic violation, you just pay your fines through an online payment. That’s still in the (future), forward-looking,” Guinto said.
To mark the PHP1.117 billion milestone, the LTO is set to award supporters and partners who have contributed to the success of the program in a ceremony on August 15, 2019, in Quezon City.
LTO chief, Assistant Secretary Edgar C. Galvante said the LTO wishes to recognize the contributions of their partners in the project since their modernization efforts would not only ease the process of doing business but would decrease corruption as well.
“This technology-driven innovation in the payment collection system for new motor vehicle registration significantly reduced human intervention in the cash management system. This translates to decreased opportunities for corrupt practices in payment, and more efficient payment collection,” Galvante said.
The online payment system currently used by the LTO is called the Landbank Electronic Payment Portal (LBP-ePP) which is being implemented in LTO NCR West and Regional Office 3 (Central Luzon).
The LTO NCR West complemented the LBP-ePP with an online assessment system called the LTO Electronic Payment Assessment Tool which automatically computes the exact amount due for a three-year registration of a motor vehicle.
The LBP-ePP online payment system was made possible through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Landbank and the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) signed last December 1, 2017.
Another MOA was signed last August 17, 2018 between Galvante, then Landbank president Alex V. Buenaventura, and BTr Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon for a nationwide implementation of an online payment system for transportation fees that would include all banks, payment centers, kiosks, among others. (PNA)
