LTO Philippines Recalls the Infamous Vintage Car AO

MANILA: Although their intentions were never against the public interest, the dreaded Administrative Order related to the use of vintage vehicles has been recalled by Land Transportation Office. If you’re still clueless about the latest rage over LTO Philippines’ new regulations, there’s a high chance you’re from another country. The government organisation was already a subject of a lot of criticism as they have failed to produce any license plates for the Filipino car owners in 2015 and have only issued a limited number of license stickers for 2016 without providing any refunds for the previous mishap.

Adding to the tensions, their latest Administrative order RPC-2016-033 enforces strict regulations related to the use of vehicle models older than 40 years or made prior to 1975. According to this new rule, Vintage car owners will need to register their vehicles with LTO, upon which they will receive a specialized license plate that will clearly mention the year of manufacture. In addition, such vehicles will only be allowed to be driven on the weekends or a public holiday or at any government authorised event related to such cars. If we listen to the authorities, this move was done in order to reduce the rising air pollution in cities and discourage owners from using old vehicles that are considered to be the major contributors to vehicular emissions. This sure sounds like a neat policy, but since it also covers vehicles that are only intended for display or storage, it was panned by a number of automotive enthusiasts and vintage car fans.

It is clearly not necessary what’s good for the environment might also be good for the public and LTO Philippines has certainly realised their mistake in the hasty issue of the order. In defense, LTO’s head Mr. Cabrera also issued an official statement that nullifies the recently issued administrative order for vintage cars in the country and will only reissue it after careful consultation and evaluation.

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