A group of public transport drivers and operators led by the National Public Transport Coalition (NPTC) slammed the new foreign-made information technology (IT) platform of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) — the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) for charging “enormous service fees” to the motoring public transacting with the agency.
In a media interview, NPTC national convenor Ariel Lim revealed that the LTO charges drivers, vehicle owners, auto dealers, and operators a minimum of P75 per transaction when paying through the LTMS.
The said service fees are allocated for the online portal’s accredited payment gateway, Paynamics.
Lim lamented that instead of providing convenience, the LTMS became an added financial burden to the motoring public, especially to the low-income public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers. He argued that since the government already owns the LTMS, the public should not be charged these additional fees.
He believes that by doing so, the system is being used by some as a “money-making” scheme and a vehicle for corruption. Lim also questioned the selection process of the payment gateway partner as to whether it underwent proper bidding and accreditation, and the basis of such a price for a service fee as it is higher than the usual rate of P25 to P45.
Aside from the P75 service charge, some motorists, especially those who have limited know-how on using computers, resort to paying P100 to P200 to “fixers” just to open an LTMS account, according to Lim.
Just last week, the NPTC revived its call to the Senate and Congress to investigate the alleged system glitches and irregularities of the LTMS project due to the failure of LTO’s foreign IT provider — Dermalog, to deliver its output on time despite receiving full payment amounting to P3.19 billion.
Lim stressed that based on reports of the Commission on Audit (COA), the LTMS project has been extended at least 14 times, and yet the government did not impose any penalties. It can also be recalled that the NPTC and other local transport groups in Davao filed a case against the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and LTO officials for the continued operations of Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVICs), which they alleged as unconstitutional.
The Lupon, Davao Oriental Regional Trial Court is expected to act on the groups’ call for a temporary restraining order (TRO) soon.
Meanwhile, during a hearing of the House Committee on Transportation held on May 11, committee chairman and Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop questioned the capability of Dermalog to deliver the IT needs of the LTO, since in a letter dated March 29, 2023, LTO chief Asec. Jose Arturo Tugade asked its long-time IT provider — Stradcom to continue its operations until the LTMS is fully operational.
It is also unclear if this presumably requires another contract extension for LTMS.
The LTO chief explained that he only requested Stradcom to stay until the migration of data from the old system to LTMS has been completed. He has earlier committed that the LTO will be fully utilizing the LTMS by August 31, 2023, despite the reported glitches and incomplete system functionalities. The LTO revealed it is already working closely with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to compel Dermalog to fulfill its contractual obligations.
