The Land Transportation Office (LTO) ought to conduct an investigation on the double plate registration incident in Cebu and, if it merits it, review the contract of the IT infrastructure provider for vehicle registrations, according to infrastructure think tank Infrawatch.
To recall, the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) reported that there were two private vehicles that bore the same registration plates in Cebu.
The vehicles, which originated from one dealership, were both registered in the LTO’s Land Transportation Management System (LTMS).
The HPG initially said the “double plate incident is a possible scheme of criminals from Luzon and that one of the two vehicles might be stolen.”
Infrawatch Convener Terry Ridon said the LTO should “quickly rectify the problem in the soonest time and make sure that this is merely a technical glitch and not the work of a criminal syndicate.”
He added that the LTO should conduct an investigation on this matter to ensure that the “government systems like LTMS are not being used or exploited by unscrupulous individuals or syndicates.”
When asked if the government should review the contract of Dermalog, the IT infrastructure provider for the LTMS, Ridon said the LTO “should look into it.”
“The LTO should review the contract of the IT supplier if there are vulnerabilities in the issuance of vehicle-specific plate numbers as a result of technical glitches,” he said.
The LTMS is part of the P3.19-billion Road IT Infrastructure project of the LTO that was awarded to the Joint Venture Agreement of German IT firm, Dermalog, and its local partners in May 2018.
LTO officials were unavailable for comment as of writing time.