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| Friday September 03, 2010 | 5:32am PHT |
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| Friday September 25, 2009 |
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| News in and around the country, courtesy
of Manila Times.
Also features news on Information Technology
courtesy of Computer
World. |
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National
Electronic tagging of vehicles legal, says LTO chief
The head of the Land Transportation Office has insisted that the agency’s multibillion-peso radio frequency identification (RFID) project is legal amid allegations of a ‘midnight’ deal. Transportation Assistant Secretary and LTO Chief Arturo Lomibao said the RFID tags would quickly identify “colorum” vehicles, which will lead to more efficient traffic law enforcement, improved traffic flow and less air pollution.
Lomibao said law enforcers could also use the frequency identification tags to identify stolen vehicles in real time as they pass scanners in police checkpoints along their routes of escape.
Under the P2.45-billion frequency identification project, all vehicles will be given stickers containing a microchip that stores vehicle information. The chip allows traffic enforcers to identify and know everything about a specific vehicle with the speed of electronic computing.
The Transportation Office chief said the technology is being used to manage traffic and vehicular registries in the United States and Great Britain, and in Asia, by Japan and Singapore.
“The RFID technology will revolutionize land transportation in the Philippines. This is a great first step in putting order in our streets,” said Lomibao, adding that the electronic tags are also used in e-passports, which are now being issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
But Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño on Thursday said he and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) would move swiftly to obtain a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the project’s implementation after discovering that the project did not undergo any public hearing or bidding before it was approved.
“The memorandum circulars of both the DOTC and LTO show that this project was approved by DOTC only last May as a mere enhancement of the existing LTO IT Project exclusively cornered by the firm Stradcom. Apparently no bidding was done for this, as it was a mere proposal by Stradcom approved by the DOTC and implemented by the LTO,” the lawmaker said in a statement.
“We are asking for official documents including the contract [with Stradcom]. We are waiting for the contract before filing the legal case,” Casiño said further.
Moreover, Casiño said the frequency identification tags only cost about $0.10 to $0.20, or about P10 each, based on a random check on the Internet. “Even if we double the price, it should still be cheaper than the P350 [one-time fee] that LTO will be charging,” he said.
The radio frequency identification tag is expected to last 10 years.
He also questioned a notation on LTO Memorandum Circular 2009-11 that said the RFID tags will contain “other data deemed necessary,” which he said violates the vehicle owner’s right to privacy.
Malacañang said it favors delaying the implementation of the radio frequency identification program to give Land Transportation Office more time to do extensive public consultations.
“It would be proper to conduct more thorough study on this and consultation, public hearings before this is implemented,” Deputy presidential spokesman Lorelie Fajardo said.
Groups opposed to the plan said RFID can be used as a spying device since radio waves from a microchip will identify all information of the vehicle on real-time basis.
- Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter, with reports from Ruben Manahan 4th and Angelo S. Samonte
OTHER NEWS:
New Bentain probe begins
‘Ping’ won’t take exposés to court
After speech, officials toreview VFA
Some public schools to teach French
Electronic tagging of vehicles legal, says LTO chief
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