Transport groups in Negros Occidental yesterday slammed the proposed standardized vehicle plates of the Land Transportation Office calling them a new burden.

During the public consultation attended by the transport sector, LTO chief Renato Novero presented the difference between the old vehicle plates and the standardized ones and their advantages.

Novero said the new plates have security features and will contain the engine number, chassis number and the routes of the public utility vehicles, which will be a deterrent against carnapping and hijacking

He said the standardized plates will have a unified design for easy detection of the fake from the original ones because LTO is having difficulties in identifying fictitious plates as there are nine different designs.

If the present vehicle plates have three letters of the alphabets and numeric characters on it, the standardized plates will bear three letters and four numbers, Novero said.

The plate numbers for private vehicles will be in black and white color while those for public utility vehicles will be in black and yellow, Novero also said.

As for motorcycle plates, they will have two letters and five numbers, he said.

Jessie Ortega, Secretary General of Sentro ng Samahan Tsuper at Operators Negros, said they do not agree with the proposed standardized plates.

Ortega said his group will meet and come up with a position paper against it, as they did in opposing the proposed Radio-frequency identification system by the LTO before.

United Negros Driver’s Operator’s Center secretary General Diego Malacad said they are questioning the manner of putting the routes into the plates because it would mean that if they are caught plying outside their routes, LTO agents will apprehend them.

Malacad said there are times when their vehicles are being hired to go outside their routes. He said that, aside from the transport sector, Congress should also be consulted before the standardization of vehicle plates is made through a department order.*APN

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