Tugade urges LTO: Adapt to technology

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has urged officials and personnel of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to constantly adapt to ever-changing technology to keep up with the needs of the public.

In his speech during the LTO’s 107th founding anniversary on Tuesday night, Tugade underscored the need to evolve to address the problems and challenges in the agency.

“We have problems and difficult challenges to meet, but we have to adjust to change,” he said.

Tugade noted that some large companies are no longer on the list of Fortune 500 Companies.

“They failed to react to the changing times,” he said.

Tugade lauded the LTO for its innovations, which addressed the problems the agency faced at the start of the Duterte administration in 2016.

Among these is the backlog of motor vehicle license plates, which reached 5.8 million from 2014 to 2016.

With a new plate-making plant that can produce around 22,400 vehicle plates a day, Tugade said the problem is now being addressed.

“Mawawala na ang tagline na tayo ay republikang walang plaka,” he said.

Tugade commended LTO chief Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante for the reforms he made, which improved the services of the agency.

“To the men and women of the LTO under the leadership of General Galvante, I salute you,” he said.

The agency’s revenue collection grew by 6.6 percent from P22.7 billion in 2017 to P24.2 billion last year.

The LTO started the procurement of a new information technology system last year to enhance its connectivity.