THE Commission on Audit has criticized the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for its failure to register or renew the registration of 69 vehicles in its service fleet as of December 31, 2023.
The COA reminded the MMDA that the same issue has been a recurring problem for the agency, having been flagged in audits of previous years.
“As one of the implementing agencies for traffic enforcement, the MMDA should act as a role model for the public in strictly following the rules and regulations prescribed by LTO (Land Transportation Office) for motor vehicle renewal/registration,” the commission said.
A list drawn by the audit team showed there were 20 vehicles marked as “registration in process,” 20 were tagged as “for registration” and 21 could not be registered due to incomplete or missing records.
Seven other vehicles were registered subsequently in 2024 while one was classified as “unserviceable.”
Auditors tagged the MMDA’s Transport Division (TD) as the office that was in charge of ensuring that all agency vehicles were registered with the LTO. The division’s records showed the MMDA has 616 units in its fleet.
“Prior communication with the TD disclosed that not all vehicles are regularly renewed/registered with LTO,” the audit team noted.
Among the reasons uncovered were that some of the vehicles were no longer roadworthy and did not pass the LTO’s inspection, some were undergoing repairs when they became due for renewal, and others could not be registered anymore because the documents required had been lost.
Auditors noted that as of yearend 2023, almost half or 265 of the MMDA’s 616 service vehicles were already too old, having exceeded their useful life, making it doubtful that they can still pass the roadworthiness tests.
In addition, there are 19 vehicles being used by agency personnel that are still registered in the name of the previous owners.
The MMDA TD explained that transferring the titles in the name of the agency has proven to be a challenge since documents like the official receipt and certificate of registration (OR/CR), deeds of donation, ID of the donor, and the secretary’s certificate have been misplaced.
Auditors warned that the use of vehicles not titled to the MMDA may result in legal and financial problems since the agency would not be able to insure the assets against loss or damage in case of accidents aside from potential ownership disputes with the holder of the property title.
