LTO Chief, Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)
MANILA – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are looking to strengthen their partnership toward road safety and anti-crime measures through a 24-hour monitoring system of vehicles which may be involved in criminal activities.
In a statement on Friday, LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the vehicles can be tracked using closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras and the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system.
“‘Yung may mga RFID sticker na ‘yung sasakyan, mata-track na namin at kapag nakita ng cameras ho namin ‘yan, automatic na it can look up sa Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) na-identify na agad ho ‘yung pangalan nung may-ari ng sasakyan and the picture of the vehicle, ‘yung location (We can track vehicles with RFIDs, and if one of our cameras spot them, it can automatically look them up through the LTMS to identify the owner, the picture of the vehicle and its location),” Mendoza said.
In addition, he vowed to crack down against overloaded trucks, especially in the provinces, through strengthened partnerships with the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
He said overloaded trucks pose a danger for all road users since they are more prone to mechanical problems, such as loss of brakes or control.
“These incidents usually cause fatal road accidents on other road users,” Mendoza said.
The issue, he said, was raised in a meeting with the PNP – Highway Patrol Group (HPG) by Senator Joel Villanueva, specifically overloaded trucks passing through Bulacan and Pampanga.
“Although we’ll make it more consistent, kasama na sa ating operation plan on a month-to-month kung saan tayo magi-implement ng overloading kasi mayroon diyan eh, seven tons kase ‘yung… nagreklamo ang NLEX kase ‘yung truck 30 tons (Although we’ll make it more consistent, we already perform routine anti-overloading operations month-to-month, the North Luzon Expressway [NLEX] recently complained of a truck weighing 30 tons that was supposed to be limited to seven tons),” he said.
Mendoza said the PNP has instructed regional directors to address reports and complaints on overloading trucks.
Anti-overloading violators and those who fail to follow other traffic rules will be apprehended and sanctioned, he added.
On Thursday, PNP-HPG director Brig. Gen. Alan Nazarro and Mendoza discussed measures and strategies to enhance their coordination, particularly on integrating technology. (PNA)
