Recto: People pushing RFID have guts to bypass Arroyo

MANILA, Philippines -- Whoever is implementing a new vehicle registration system for motorists that uses cutting-edge technology “must be powerful enough to have the guts to bypass” President Macapagal-Arroyo, according to Ralph Recto, the former socioeconomic planning secretary.

Recto said the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) scheme that the Land Transportation Office is planning to implement by Oct. 1 has not been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority which he used to head.

The RFID, which the LTO said would revolutionize and speed up vehicle registration because it uses the latest microchip technology, did not go through the Neda board which has to approve any imposition of new fees, said Recto.

The LTO cannot go ahead with the project without the consent of the Neda board, which is chaired by the President, he said.

Neda approval

Under the Neda’s Memorandum Circular 137-2007, agency heads have to seek prior clearance from the Neda board before imposing new fees or increasing existing ones, Recto said.

Recto, who resigned from the Cabinet in early August to prepare for his senatorial candidacy, asked the LTO to submit the new system to the Neda board for approval.

“If the project has its merits and is imbued with public interest, then there is no harm in subjecting it to the process. The discovery of its beneficial traits will surface during the evaluation phase,” he said.

According to Recto, another Neda memorandum, Circular 01-2008, which sets the guidelines for the evaluation of new or increased fees.

He explained that all fees and charges have to be cleared with Neda and coordinated with stakeholders as they affect the cost of doing business in the Philippines and impact on the general public.

Apart from lacking Neda approval, the new RFID system would entail imposing new fees on motorists, Recto said.

“Six million vehicles will be required to pay higher fees on vehicle registration yearly, and 100,000 to 150,000 new vehicles are registered yearly. Millions of citizens will be affected by the new fees, which further highlight the need for it to undergo the proper process,” he said.

Follow rules

Following Recto’s statement, Gary Olivar, the presidential economic spokesperson, advised the LTO to follow regulations before implementing the new technology.

“That would certainly be an issue especially if it comes from someone like former Secretary Recto. That is an example of an issue that ought to be looked at and discussed more thoroughly,” said Olivar.

The RFID uses radio waves to identify and pinpoint vehicles, whether stationary or moving or in remote locations. It does so through a sticker stuck on a vehicle’s windshield that contains a microchip on which is stored all information on the vehicle such as make, model and plate number.

Motorists will only pay a one-time fee of P350 when they register their vehicles, and the RFID tag has a validity of 10 years.

The LTO said the new RFID system would allow the agency and other law enforcement bodies to access vehicle information to aid in traffic management, law enforcement and crime prevention.

Used for surveillance?

However, a party-list representative has objected to the RFID, warning that the system could be abused and used by authorities to spy on private citizens.

Alberto Suansing, the official who approved the RFID project, yesterday said there was nothing sinister about the new vehicle registration system.

Its main objective is to make car and vehicle registration easy for motorists so that a visit to the LTO office would as “if they are going through a drive-thru such as McDonalds,” said Suansing, the former LTO chief who now chairs the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

“It’s not going to be used to track a vehicle,” said Suansing, allaying fears that the RFID system would be used to spy on or surveil certain people.

In the first place, Suansing explained, the RFID tags only contain data already normally found in a car registration certificate. That includes the motor vehicle number, the registration certificate number, the color, make and body of the vehicle as well as the name of the owner.

Suansing, who attended a Senate hearing yesterday on the road user’s tax, said the idea came to him when he became LTO chief and was “confronted with problems about smuggled vehicles, unregistered vehicles, colorum vehicles, and those with dubious registration papers.”

Explaining the process, Suansing said information about a vehicle would be “read” through its tag, which would then be inputted at the LTO’s data processing center. The motorist then pays the registration fee and gets his registration paper.

Car owners registering their vehicles will also be spared from being victimized by fixers at the LTO offices during registration time.

One-time fee valid for 10 years

Suansing dismissed apprehensions that the RFID tags were expensive, noting that the one-time fee of P350 valid for 10 years meant shelling out about P35 a year.

As for the choice of Stradcom to handle the project without the benefit of bidding, he said there was no need for bidding because Stradcom was already the LTO’s information technology provider.

“It was the IT provider that looked for the tagging and the required appliances there,” Suansing said.

In a press statement, Stradcom said all the readers and tags to be used for the RFID project—“all manufactured abroad to ensure the highest quality and security”—would be properly registered with and approved by the National Telecommunications Commission.

“Stradcom will strictly follow the processes and procedures prescribed by the NTC in relation to the approval, registration and licensing of all equipment that will be deployed in the RFID project,” it said.

Hold consultation

The Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi), an organization of motor vehicle assemblers and distributors, urged the LTO to hold consultations with stakeholders before implementing the RFID.

Campi president Elizabeth Lee said the auto industry and other stakeholders wanted to know what the LTO’s objectives were in implementing the scheme.

“Basically, we are requesting for consultation as none was done. We were surprised with the information and ads (that came out),” she said in a text message.

Lee said the LTO should also identify the target market for the scheme.

She noted that the RFID is used in some countries for logistics and fleet vehicle tracking. With a report from Abigail Ho