In a gesture befitting the festive Yuletide season, Land Transportation Office chief, Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II, has temporarily relaxed the "No Registration, No Travel" rule for the entirety of December.

"Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista immediately approved this when we consulted him. It's a time of celebration, and we don't want the LTO to add to the stress of our countrymen," Assistant Secretary Mendoza said in Filipino on Thursday.

Mendoza said he relayed the order to all LTO regional directors and heads of unit, including the Law Enforcement Service, which oversees the operation against delinquent motor vehicles.

The strict implementation of the "No Registration, No Travel" policy will resume in January.

He said all enforcers were instructed to warn the drivers of delinquent motor vehicles.

"But I want to make clear that there is no forever in the loosening up the drive against delinquent motor vehicles. After the New Year celebration, we will go back to the strict implementation of the drive," he said.

He advised delinquent motor vehicle owners to set aside a portion of their 13th-month pay and bonuses to pay for their car registration renewal.

Mendoza earlier instructed LTO regional directors and district office heads to set up priority lanes for the registration of delinquent motor vehicles.

He said the priority lanes will still be open this month for those wishing to renew their car registration.

Some 24.7 million motor vehicles are classified as delinquent, or those whose owners have not renewed their registration. 

The figure represents around 65 percent of all motor vehicles in the country, the reason Mendoza said he issued the "No Registration, No Travel" policy.

More vehicles registered

 Mendoza lauded the LTO-National Capital Region and LTO-Region 6 offices for their aggressive campaigns on the "No Registration, No Travel" policy that registered more delinquent motor vehicles.

 He said renewing delinquent registrations means there will be more roadworthy vehicles on the roads as these would have passed inspection.

 "This was the main purpose of our campaign as part of the LTO mandate to ensure the safety of all road users," he said in the vernacular.

Registration up

 Aside from Western Visayas and Metro Manila, Mendoza said an increase in registrations was observed in other regions, but the data is still being collated.

 Data from LTO-Region 6, headed by Regional Director Eric Lenard Tabaldo, showed that 3,671 vehicle registrations were renewed as of 30 November, several days after the "No Registration, No Travel" policy went into effect. For motorcycles, there were 8,712 renewed registrations.

 Mendoza said the LTO-NCR office headed by Regional Director Roque Verzosa III registered the highest collection for one day on 4 December amid an aggressive information drive to encourage owners to register their delinquent motor vehicles. Collections for the day totaled P919,604.69.

 Mendoza said more motor vehicle owners are expected to renew their registration in the coming months.