The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas caused the delayed issuance of license plates at the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) as revealed by former DOTC undersecretary Alberto Suansing.
The former DOTC undersecretary Alberto Suansing revealed that the former DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas has left a procurement policy at the DOTC that caused the delays in the purchase and issuance of vehicle license plate by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
According to Alberto Suansing who was interviewed during the Tapatan Forum at Aristocrate Restaurant on Roxas Blvd., Manila, the former DOTC Sec. Mar Roxas issued a memorandum consolidating all procurement programs under the DOTC.
The procurement system memorandum includes the process involved in the annual procurement of license plates by LTO, one of the offices under the DOTC.
The former undersecretary was quoted as saying as reported by Interaksyon, “As far as I know, during the time of Secretary Mar Roxas at DOTC, they decided to place all procurement programs, not just of the LTO but of all agencies under DOTC, [into a centralized system at the] DOTC,” Suansing said.
Undersecretary Suansing added further that, every registration year, the LTO issues an average of 400,000 license plates at P400 each for registering vehicle owners, but due to delays in the procurement, there has been a backlog of release.
Suansing stated “Systemic ang problema eh, imbes na gumanda ang sistema, lumala pa. Unang-unang pinakialaman ang procurement system ng plaka dapat sa LTO, ginawa ng DOTC, dinala nila sa DOTC [The problem, is systemic; and instead of improving, things have worsened. It began when they trifled with the procurement system for plates under LTO: they made it a DOTC process, they brought it all under DOTC] ,” Suansing said.
Aside from the delay of the license plates issuance by the LTO, there’s an additional legal complication will affect the DOTC if it continues to enforce the policy left by Sec. Mar Roxas in the department and will be held liable for violating the Auditing Rules and Regulations, the General Appropriations Act and the Procurement Law.
