IN response to widespread public outcry, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has reiterated that confiscating motor vehicle license during apprehensions is prohibited.
In a memorandum, LTO Chief Jay Art Tugade has emphasized that all LTO law enforcers and authorized agents are forbidden from confiscating license plates of traffic violators if the apprehended motor vehicles cannot be impounded.
The memorandum highlights the provision under Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 2014-01, which stipulates,
“In all instances where the penalty involves the confiscation, suspension or revocation of a driver’s license or student permit, as well as the suspension or revocation of motor vehicle registration, or impounding the motor vehicle, and the immediate implementation is impossible, the driver’s license, the student permit, or motor vehicle, as the case may be, shall be placed on the alert list until the appropriate penalty can be enforced.”
Tugade acknowledged and welcomed the public complaints that led him to reiterate the policy on license plate confiscation.
He reassured the public that LTO’s central command center can swiftly relay information on flagged vehicles to law enforcement officers in the field.
Moreover, LTO Chief Tugade emphasized on his memo that all LTO law enforcers and authorized agents are forbidden from confiscating license plates if they cannot impound the apprehended motor vehicles.
LTO Chief Tugade has reassured the public that the agency’s central command center can swiftly relay information about flagged motor vehicles to law enforcement officers in the field
