Why a fixer will always have a customer

“Ineed a fixer!” I declared to no one in particular while standing in line in front of “Window L” at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) at East Avenue, Quezon City.

I was one window away to complete the seemingly simple process of having the ownership of a previouslyowned vehicle transferred to my name. It was our second day processing the transfer. My son and I had taken on the task to do that because our auto club had limited its services.

The LTO part of the whole process is the most demanding (of patience and time). It made the time lining up for the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) clearance an efficient system, even if one step involved paying the required fee at a Land Bank branch outside the HPG area in Camp Karingal. And then going back to wait for our turn for the macro-etching, a process to determine if the engine and chassis numbers have not been tampered – and are therefore not stolen.

Following the many steps at the LTO is only a minor part of the task. The main challenge is finding parking space. First, my son went from window to window having our documents checked and re-checked, and paying for third party insurance. I was tasked to double-park to wait for a slot. The guards shooed away cars that were double parked. I drove around the LTO compound about eight times, lingering in between guards, while my son, when it was his turn, drove around six times. Once I had to angrily beg the guard to let me stop for a few minutes because I was about to vomit. I am an old woman and am prone to vertigo. He walked away but another one came over to wave me off.

It is strange that a government office mandated to process vehicle registrations – which usually needs the physical presence of the vehicles – has parking for about less than a hundred vehicles.

Its employees’ parking areas around the compound looked like it could accommodate more, with at least five of them at the visitors’ parking area. I know, because I asked the guard why there were empty slots cordoned off.

After lunch, my son offered to drive around while I go and finish the other steps to get the certificate of registration. I took over where he left off, at Window H where a man behind a glass window sounded like he was speaking to himself. I only got him to say it clearly by indicating that he had to say that near my ear which was poised in front of the hole of the glass.

So, I went to the end of the hall, to Window L, in what appeared to me as a dark windowless room. The window counter faced rows of chairs occupied by people. The anxiety of Covid swept over me, I stood near the open door which implied some ventilation for the room – hopefully enough to let any virus fly out. A courteous man offered his seat near the door to me, but I declined. The fear of sitting with many people took over.

Meanwhile, I noticed a few people lined up in front of Window L. I learned that their names had been called and they were waiting to pay for something. Although my name had not yet been called, I chose to stand in the queue because the air seemed better there.

I stood and waited and waited.

I watched two people behind the glass windows at work. They must have served hundreds before me, their motion appeared precise and slow.

My static position tested my patience. Finally, my name was called! Again, I observed the same motion from the man behind the glass window. It reminded me of the nursery rhyme I read to my kids ages ago – “slow and steady; steady and slow.”

There are many if’s to the task of having a vehicle’s record transferred to another owner’s name. One is –If the LTO did not have a “cut-off time” at 3 p.m., I would have finished the process at the end of the first day. Instead, I only got up to the physical checking of the vehicle’s engine and chassis numbers. We were about 50 meters from Window H, where the deed of sale and other related documents are submitted to start the process of putting my name on another paper.

If the LTO had more parking spaces for the transacting public, I would not have wasted fuel driving around, and the time of my son to go from window to window.

If I had known how to employ the services of somebody to do that for me, I would pay for it.

If I had more patience, I would have waited for the final step at Window M to get the Certificate of Registration with my name. But I left the line to my son who had joined me after finally finding an empty parking slot. So, I went to sit in the car.

Finally, on day 2, at 2:57 p.m., my son sent me the message: “Done!”

Thank God, we made it before cut-off time!

Following the many steps at the LTO is only a minor part of the task. The main challenge is finding parking space.