CEBU CITY, Philippines – At least11 offices of the Land Transportation Office (LTO)-7 in the region were temporarily closed as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
LTO-7 regional director Victor Caindec said that offices that were temporarily closed include the Cebu City Mega Licensing Center in SM Seaside City, Driver’s License Renewal Offices (DLRO) Fuente and DLRO SM City in Cebu City; Tagbilaran District Office Licensing Extension, DLRO-ICM Bohol, Talibon Extension Office and Jagna District Office-Garcia Hernandez in Bohol; and Dumaguete City District Office, Bayawan City District Office, DLRO-Robinsos Dumaguete and La Libertad District Office in Negros Oriental.
The agency also temporarily closed the operation of their Temporary Offsite Plate Distribution office (TOPO) located at the City Wing and Sea View Wing of SM Seaside City in the South Road Properties (SRP).
Caindec said that the move aims to minimize the contact between LTO employees and their clientele.
“Those employees that were affected (by the closure), we will be reassigning them to offices that are still open,” Caindec said.
He added that there are still 16 LTO-7 offices in the region that will remain operational.
The agency has also established a text hotline that will cater to different concerns such as 0918-557-6658 for Licensing; 0918-557-6662 for registration; 0918-557-6664 for apprehension; and 0918-807-3502 for plates.
Meanwhile, to ensure the safety of their workers and clients, LTO-7 has also ordered its offices to implement social distancing by observing a one-seat-apart policy at their waiting area and installing disinfectants or alcohol inside their offices. /RCG