Supreme Court will resolve LTO contract petition

The P3.19-billion contract of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) it entered with a German firm is set to be resolved by the Supreme Court (SC).

This after the high bench has submitted for its resolution the petition seeking to nullify the multi-billion contract of the LTO in 2018 with Dermalog Joint Venture, a German firm, for the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS).

The case stemmed from the petition filed by Gerald Domingo and Atty. Jose Carlito M. Montenegro who told the court that the continuous existence of a flawed agreement may eventually lead to a threat to national security and even breach of informational privacy of the LTO data that include private information of the agency’s clients like them.

The petition stated that“Paying Dermalog JV, keeping LTO technologically captured, continually exposing unauthorized access to LTO’s data in foreign countries… undermine public welfare, threaten national security, and breach informational privacy of LTO data subjects, like herein petitioners who are taxpayers, drivers, motorists and motor vehicle owners.”

The LTMS was envisioned to integrate all LTO services — like issuance of driver’s license and transport permits, and registration of motor vehicles — into a single database and digital platform.

It would be a web-based core system that would replace the old system of LTO, including the establishment and operation of an exclusive on-premises private cloud, network operations center, technical support, and helpdesk centers.

Acting on the petition, the SC required the LTO and Dermalog to file their comments.

The plea for a temporary restraining order sought in the petition would be acted by the SC as soon as the comments were filed.