LTO-7 has new assistant regional director, updates for vehicle plates distribution

The Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) welcomes its new assistant regional director, Engr. Arturo Roque Apolinar on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. | Contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office Central Visayas (LTO-7) welcomed their newly appointed assistant regional director (ARD) on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

LTO-7 director Glen Galario introduced Engineer Arturo Roque Apolinar, the new LTO-7 ARD to the public and the members of Cebu media in a press conference.

Galario, who previously served as the ARD effective June 20, 2023, said on Wednesday that he is assigning Apolinar to the distribution of vehicle plates.

“Sir, ikaw nay bahala. I know you can do it,” Galario told Apolinar.

Apolinar previously served as the assistant regional director of Region 6 (Western Visayas).

Moreover, Galario said that he hopes that Apolinar stands firm in addressing the concerns that he faced during his term as the assistant regional director.

“As the OIC RD (officer-in-charge regional director) I hope and pray that we will have a harmonious relationship,” Galario said.

Meanwhile, Apolinar expressed his gratitude to LTO-7 for accepting him in the office.

He said that since he is new in the Central Visayas office, he has to observe first how things are going in the LTO-7.

“I’m not new in the field of LTO. Kahibaw man ko nga daghan pud sa inyo nga eksperto sa akong trabaho, magtinabangay lang ta as what RD Glen told me, we need a harmonious relationship,” Apolinar said.

He added that LTO is “one big family.”

“Hindi natin kailangan magsiraan, hindi natin kailangan magsipsipan, hindi natin kailangan magsikuhan para maka pwesto tayo ng maganda. Magtulungan tayo kasi ang tinutulungan natin, LTO at the same time, mamamayan,” he said.

Vehicle plates

According to the regional director, LTO-7 has released around 20,000 vehicle plates as of July 2023.

However, Galario said that they cannot determine the exact number of plates to be turned over to Apolinar yet since they are still releasing some plates.

“Atong ma determine ang exact number, next week pa gyud kay naa man pud mi i-release nga plaka pud. I don’t know kung pila ang number pero thousands gihapon siya pero more or less mga 600 (thousand) plus gihapon siya,” he said.

Meanwhile, Apolinar, on his part, said he needs the coordination of their clients, dealers, and other heads of offices to help them distribute the said plates more efficiently.

According to Joel Maloloy-on, chief of LTO Cebu City District Office, they could distribute between 20 to 30 plates a day.

Maloloy-on said that the plate distribution is still at SM Seaside City and in an impounding area in Talisay City where the plates are housed.

Plate distribution

Maloloy-on hopes that with the help of the new assistant regional director, the distribution of plates will be faster.

“In fact ang management ni RD Glen, nag inplace na og methods and strategies unsaon ni pag distribute ning mga plakaha ang one of the strategies nga atong gi-adopt is ang tanan natong mga kliyente [kay] pwede na mo drop sa ilahang OR-CR (official receipt and certificate of registration) to all satellite offices sa LTO-7,” he said.

In return, the heads of the satellite offices will be the ones to transmit the OR-CR to Cebu City to locate the plates.

“Then ibalik pod namo ang plaka nga pisikal ngadto sa LTO (satellite office) kung asa ge drop ang OR-CR para adto kuhaon ang plaka sa atoang mga kliyente. So, very convenient na sa atong mga clients. No need for them to come to Cebu City,” he said.

Moreover, the regional director added that they also tapped the dealers to optimize their distribution.

“Kanang mga kliyente nato nga moadto sa dealers para mukuha sa ilahang plate numbers, uban ana gusto sila mo diretso diri sa ato,” he said.

Galario added that the only problem is the “distance limitation,” hence, the clients can go directly to the office of LTO-7 bringing their OR and CR.

“Then ang katong in-charge sa opisina, sila nay mo contact diri sa amo. Mao lage na, kami mag locate sa plate numbers diha sa atong warehouse, then we’ll send it to the particular office,” he said.

Galario added that by October 4 this year, the 600,000 plates should have been distributed.

READ: New LTO-7 chief promises to release half a million vehicle plates, prioritize road safety

LTO-7 urges car owners to help them

Although Galario admitted that it was “kind of impossible,” he is committed to distributing the plate numbers in their warehouse to have a drop in figures with the help of the assistant regional director.

With this, the assistant regional director has also requested the car owners to help them in order to expedite the distribution.

“All car owners nga wala pay plaka, please try to zerox your OR CR. Put your exact address, contact numbers para matulungan niyo rin kami mapadali ang distribution,” Apolinar said.

He clarified that the car owners have to write their address because sometimes, the address written in the certificate is not updated which would delay the process since LTO has to search their exact address again.   /rcg

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