Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II on Monday ordered the creation of special “fast lanes” for the registration of delinquent motor vehicles in all LTO offices.

In a statement, Mendoza said the measure will be disseminated to all LTO officials through a memorandum and is part of “Oplan Balik Rehistro, Be Road Ready,” the agency’s drive to register around 24.7 million unregistered vehicles nationwide.

“All owners who will be availing voluntary registration under this Oplan shall be given priority and all district/extension offices shall designate a fast lane for this purpose,” he said.

Those eligible for the LTO fast lane are “delinquent” motor vehicles or those with an expired registration for at least one year.

To date, he said the 24.7 million delinquent motor vehicles—made up mostly of motorcycles—represent around 65 percent of all vehicles in the country.

The LTO is also conducting aggressive law enforcement operations through its “no registration, no travel” policy.

Motorists caught driving a vehicle with an expired registration are sanctioned with a PHP10,000 fine.

“Napakalaki ng babayaran kapag nahuli ka na walang rehistro ang inyong motorsiklo at sasakyan (You’ll have to pay a big fine if your vehicle is unregistered). That is why we are reaching out to the delinquent motor vehicle owners in order for them to avoid these stiff penalties and this includes providing priority lanes for them in all our district and extension offices,” Mendoza said.

The LTO will also hold a “One Stop Shop/Service Caravan/Outreach Program” in several parts of the country.

The program is meant to bring the services of the LTO closer to the public, particularly the registration of delinquent motor vehicles.

“We are implementing programs to reach out to our clients so that they will be encouraged to register their motor vehicles. Ayaw din namin sa LTO na dumating pa sa punto ng panghuhuli dahil sa laki ng penalties na babayaran (We at LTO don’t want them to be apprehended because of how expensive the fine is),” Mendoza said. (PNA)