LTO urges motorists to update their records in event of vehicle sale
Land Transportation Office chief, Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II wants to remind all motorists to keep the agency informed of any motor vehicle's sale or change of ownership to avoid any legal trouble in cases of serious traffic accidents or criminal activities.
According to Mendoza, the name that appears in the registration data of any motor vehicle is always presumed as its owner and its driver, which means any investigation and liability is addressed to him or her.
“It is really important to keep the data of your motor vehicles updated in the LTO, especially in case of change of ownership. Dahil kung ano man ang mangyari hindi maganda, kayo pa rin ang iimbestigahan at hahabulin dahil pangalan ninyo ang nakalagay sa database ng LTO (Because if something bad happens, you will be the one who will be investigated since it is your name that’s on LTO’s database),” said Mendoza.
LTO Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II
The LTO chief added that there were cases in the past where motor vehicle owners would be issued with Show Cause Order (SCO), or will be investigated by the police after the vehicle they previously owned was involved in road rage and even criminal activities.
In the case of the fatal road rage incident in Makati City, for instance, an individual was issued with an SCO after being presumed to be the driver of the Mercedes Benz since he is the registered owner based on the LTO data. Police even went to the individual’s registered address in Las Piñas City. The driver who was involved in the road rage incident turned out to be another person and was arrested in Pasig City.
The same incident happened in the case of the registered owner of the motorcycle used as the getaway motor vehicle of the gunman in the killing of an LTO official in Quezon City. The motorcycle's original owner had already sold the motorcycle but was included in the investigation after he failed to update the ownership status of the motor vehicle.
Doble Plaka Law requires reporting of the sale of motorcycle
Section 4 of the Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act, which was signed into law in 2019, requires individuals to report the sale or disposition of his/her motorcycle to the LTO or face a penalty of up to PHP 50,000 that may include jail time.
Colloquially known to motorcycle riders as the Doble Plaka Law, Sec. 4 of RA 11235 reads: “The owner of a motorcycle shall register his or her motorcycle with the LTO within five (5) days from such acquisition of ownership. The owner of a motorcycle shall also immediately report any sale or disposition of his or her motorcycle to the LTO. Failure of the owner to register within five (5) days from acquisition of ownership, or to immediately report its sale or disposition, shall subject the owner to a penalty of imprisonment of arresto mayor to prision correccional, as defined under the Revised Penal Code, or a fine of not less than twenty thousand pesos (PHP 20,000) but not more than fifty thousand pesos (PHP 50,000), or both.
