We paid, they collected, we suffered. How about diving in a cesspool full of corrupt government officials waiting for another unsuspecting victim to prey on? P50 fee may not seem like a big deal but when this is paid for the supposed Land Transporation Office (LTO) stickers, you will wonder, where in the world did your money go? Did it just self-destruct or disappear into thin air after the people from LTO receive the fee? This excuse is tongue-in-cheek. Maybe the stickers are really existent except that only wise people can see them (talk about Emperor’s New Clothes). Let us know if that is the case and we will pretend that we do see those “special stickers”.
While the amount may not be something for a car owner to worry about, after all, it is just 50 pesos, but collectively, they are worth millions. These fees are collected from an estimated eight million car owners, and when the owners of registered vehicles came to collect the stickers, the agency known for its notoriety has nothing (as in zero) to show. The million dollar question is: where have all those fees gone?
It is easy to fabricate stories as to why the stickers are not yet available. These people from LTO can just tell car owners that the magical paper used for creating the stickers are not yet available. Of course, these car owners are not gullible to buy such a phony story. If you are already getting used to this kind of system, paying another P50 for “new stickers” may no longer be a big deal, but it does leave a bad taste in your mouth. How can you put your trust in these agencies when all they do is to scam people in many guises?
LTO is not only facing serious issues with releasing of stickers but license plates as well. They require motorists to pay the fee, but the stickers are not delivered. According to reports, LTO only released stickers for two-wheeled vehicles, but not for four-wheeled vehicles. This waiting game is going to test the motorists’ patience.
If you have keenly observed the number of years you have been paying for these stickers, you will come to realize that you have been completely ripped off. You were tricked into believing that these stickers really exist, but they are just a façade of the dark truth about unscrupulous fee collection that has been dragging LTO into the quagmire of corruption. From a far, these people looked as though they were drowning, but they are simply waving the fees they collected from motorists.
