Acting in favor of the people
It benefits no one, not even the government, to keep the plates longer in storage.
Finally, after 19 months, the Supreme Court has lifted its temporary restraining order (TRO) on the release of about 700,000 motor vehicle license plates that were previously the subject of a suit filed by two congressmen. By dismissing the suit, car and bike owners — at least 700,000 of them — can hope to receive their new plates within the year.
After all, the plates have already been paid for. I recall having paid for my own plates during registration renewal in 2015. Mind you, this was not for a brand-new car but for an old one. But, the new front and back plates were never delivered. Much like how car owners like me paid for RFIDs years ago during registration renewal, but the project was stopped midway.
It is a fact that payments were made by car owners, but no RFIDs were delivered. And payments were never returned nor credited back to car owners during future registration renewals. As far as I am concerned, that was about P350 that went to the Land Transportation Office (LTO), or to the government, properly receipted, but I never got anything for my money.
At least now, I can still hope to get my new plates. In a news report in Philippine
Star, SC spokesman Theodore Te was quoted as saying the court has dismissed the suit filed by congressmen Jonathan dela Cruz of Abakada party-list and Gustavo Tambunting of Parañaque City that questioned the legality of the Bureau of Customs’ donation of the plates to LTO.
Customs had previously seized the plates after their importer failed to pay the taxes and duties on them. Yes, the plates were actually made abroad by LTO’s supplier, and had to be imported into the country for release to car owners. But, the government and its supplier didn’t provide for duties and taxes on the imported plates, resulting in their seizure.
But, instead of just releasing the plates to the people after they were seized, two congressmen questioned the “donation” of the plates by Customs to LTO as illegal, because of a notice of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit on the LTO’s payment for the imported plates to the supplier. In short, until the audit issue is resolved, the plates could not be released.
In lifting the TRO, the SC reportedly declared as legal the Customs donation, noting that the appropriation of the budget for the plates, and the use of this appropriation or the budget for their payment, were unconstitutional.
As early as 2015, the court already ruled as legal the LTO’s purchase from a supplier new license plates for both old and new vehicles registered.
Admittedly, releasing 700,000 plates is a small win considering that the present backlog of undelivered license plates is reportedly over six million. But, as I had noted in a column in June 2016, all that motorists want is to get the plates that they had paid for with hard-earned money. In my case, I didn’t want new plates, but the government said I should get them and made me pay for them in 2015.
A year had passed after payment and I didn’t get my plates. A lot of other motorists have been waiting longer than I have. Sadly, with the SC TRO in June 2016, which was because of the suit filed by two lawmakers, we all had to wait another 19 months until a decision was rendered finally against withholding the release of the plates.
I can understand that the SC had to stop LTO from releasing any plates already produced “effective immediately and until further orders,” so as not to prejudice the rights and interest of the government in the case. But, at the end of the day, what was instead prejudiced was the interest of the public.
As I had noted previously, what was affected ultimately were the rights and interest of the very people who have paid for these car and bike plates — indirectly through taxes that were disbursed from the budget to pay the plate manufacturer, and directly through additional charges imposed by LTO on motorists who were made to buy replacement plates for old cars.
Recall that these license plates, all made abroad, were seized by Customs after their importer failed to pay around P40-million in taxes and duties. After about a year, instead of auctioning the seized items as required by law, Customs opted to donate them to LTO so that they may be finally released to motorists. But, with the SC order, the release and distribution were stopped.
Two lawmakers reportedly argued that the car plates seized by Customs for unpaid taxes and duties could not be just turned over to LTO because of the notice of disallowance from the Commission on Audit regarding advance payments to the supplier. Then, there was the main allegation that the plate supply project was auctioned in 2013 without sufficient appropriation.
But, the fact remains that the plates have already been manufactured, and had been gathering dust in storage since 2015. And motorists have already paid for these plates through sums collected from them by LTO three years ago. At this point, with the TRO lifted, one can only hope
the plates are still intact and still suitable for use, and can be distributed immediately.
If the advance payments by LTO be ruled illegal, then compel the plate maker to reimburse the government for advances to it. LTO should initiate a suit to claim. In the same manner, if the plate maker feels aggrieved, then it can initiate suit against government to claim payment. Then, that would be the end of it.
Moreover, if LTO people are at fault for giving due advantage to the plate supplier, then charge them with graft. If they were incompetent, then penalize them in ways possible. And, if the plate maker is also at fault, then charge it as well. And then, sue to collect from them money owed to the government.
It benefits no one, not even the government, to keep the plates longer in storage. I still believe the SC TRO was unnecessary, but that is water under the bridge. Moving forward, LTO and Customs should act quickly. Don’t further penalize motorists for the incompetence and inefficiency of the people who put together and approved that plate supply contract. Release the plates already and give them to their owners.