A total of 41 motorcycle riders were apprehended as the Land Transportation Office (LTO) started its strict implementation of the "No Registration, No Travel" policy.
All of those apprehended were from Metro Manila which has the highest number of delinquent motor vehicles, but LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II said the aggressive operations are expected to be carried out across the country.
"Napakaraming motorsiklo ang hindi rehistrado at batay sa ating record, marami sa mga ito ay hindi nakarehistro ng isa hanggang limang taon. Hindi natin papayagan ito at makakaasa ang ating mga kababayan na gagawa tayo ng mga aksyon upang mapilitan ang mga may-ari nito na magparehistro," said Mendoza.
Part of the aggressive operations, according to Mendoza, was his order to the LTO Regional Directors to coordinate with the Police Regional Offices of the Philippine National Police and traffic enforcement units of local government units (LGUs) against unregistered motorcycles.
There are around 24.7 million delinquent vehicles, or those whose owners either failed or deliberately refused to have their motor vehicles registered.
Most of those delinquent motor vehicles, based on the LTO records, are motorcycles.
LTO-Law Enforcement Section (LES) said they began deploying enforcers in areas where motorcycles usually travel, such as along Katipunan Avenue and Aurora Boulevard.
According to LES, all the apprehended drivers were issued with citation tickets, and all the motorcycles with no registration were impounded. It added that the aggressive operation complies with the directive of the LTO Chief Mendoza.
Mendoza said the campaign to have all delinquent motor vehicles be registered is in line with the order of Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista to ensure that all motor vehicles traveling on the roads pass the road-worthiness inspections which is a requirement for registration.
"The operation we conducted in Metro Manila should serve as a warning to all delinquent motor vehicle owners to register them in the soonest possible time. Huwag na ninyong hintayin pa na mahuli kayo dahil mas malalang problema ang kakaharapin ninyo," Mendoza said.