Last week on Tuesday morning our trip to town went very smoothly I had a few places to go and not so important stop’s to make. We had just stopped by the Royal Store to pick up diapers for our grandson Jaden as we had received an emergency “We need diapers!” text from his mother” as I turned the corner there was Mitsubishi Car World and since it was close I stopped in to check on my license plates and see if they arrived from our friends at the LTO. After three days of solid rain we has just received from the typhoon of September 15th which had hit the Northern Section of Luzon, it was now sunny and I decided to check on the tags. I’m a cockeyed optimist.
First Denny (Our salesman) and the administrative young lady checked the drawer where they were stored and they drew a blank, then the pleasant young lady jumped up and said; “Sir Paul, please wait!” Behind her on the shelf was a plastic envelope that had arrived that morning from the LTO and the very top tag was mine. She was so pleased that it was there and was smiling a big broad smile. She was laughing and said; “Wow Sir Paul, this was a good day to stop by and check. What she didn’t know was that with all the pleasant employees at Car World Subic it was always a good day to stop by.
From February until September, seven full months, WOW that was quick. A young man was there within seconds to remove the new tags from my hand and with a 10 MM wrench and screwdriver he dashed outside to remove the temporary tags from the car, along with the plate protector that I had installed. Under the new rules you may not have anything obstructing or covering the tag. The tag protector will end up on my Son-in-law Chris’ car.
The factory fittings that held the tag (Rubber grommets) must be removed so the special LTO bolts (Provided with the new tags) can be installed. The young man had to become a contortionist to install the front tag as the car grill blocks access to the bumper. But of course he got the job done, as if there was ever a doubt. But it wasn’t easy. Moving to the rear it was simpler as the trunk opens and you can reach right behind and install the bolts.
It was all done except the LTO Decal (Now referred to by the LTO as the 3rd license plate) on the windshield (Windscreen if you’re British) the windshield was 100% tinted and the LTO instructions state that the sticker is not to be obstructed so the patch of tinting had to be removed. It was done and all was well. I even got to remove the conduction stickers from the front and rear windows that come with all new cars, albeit I have seen 10 year old cars driving around with bleached from the sun old conduction stickers still affixed to the windows. I guess it’s a status symbol like the European tag sticking out under the Philippine Tag, on cars that have never been off of Luzon.
I’m ready to leave when the manager who has helped me from the first day in February noticed something wrong on my tags as I was about to drive away, it seems that the heads on the LTO bolts must be sheared off and no bolt head visible. (It will end up looking like a rivet) As this safety feature could prevent some nefarious person from taking your tags and using them to cause mayhem here in the Philippine Islands. Not that the tags couldn’t be removed by drilling them out, but not many thieves carry a power drill in their rear pocket.BTW improper instillation will be grounds for ticket, and no one wants that.
It was also a learning experience for the young man installing the plates; he and I both failed to read the instructions provided. But I bought him lunch anyway. Also the sticker on the windshield again called the 3rd license plate and can only be read at a certain angle. So far according to the LTO there will be no more date stickers on the tag that denotes when the tags expire. So I must assume that the police must stop every car and at the certain angle read and get that information off of your windshield. I’ll bet there is a quick change to that rule as soon as it dawns on someone within the police Chain of Command.
But for now I am motoring the highways and byways of the Philippines Islands 100% legal and adhering to all the rules. As I had learned years ago, that short cuts always bite me squarely on the hind quarter. It’s the similar to the rule of putting your car in reverse, the second you do, someone or something will appear there if by magic. Understanding this rule will make life pass smoothly here in the land of enchantment.
Paul – Our Car World temp tag from April just disintegrated last week from over-use and is now somewhere in a ditch, waiting to be repurposed by someone. I suppose we’ll give Mitsubishi another call in a couple months to see if we strike gold too!
John;
My temp tags were under the tag protector for 7 months so they were thrown away looking as good as new. Someday your tags will come with the nifty new bolts.
Whats with this new tag rule??”?”? I just tagged two of my cars, last month and this month and no one said anything at LTO here in Dipolog City about some new tag law?????
Pastor Bud;
Did you buy two new cars? If you just renewed your tags then it won’t apply to you. Look at the picture of the tags on my car and you will see the new rule in effect.
Haven’t seen mention of this, but anywhere around metro Manila, beware of the plate “:coding”. Some days you may dirve, others you will have expensive mega-grief. 2006, asawa ko txt ko … “pick me up. ”
grabe! mag-expensive ng pickup and many hours delayed until after 7pm. Tuesday was NOT my permitted plate day; I learned the date way too late. They have cameras on coastal hwy, and that was years ago. Likely everywhere GMA by now.
That plus beware, you may be hit anytime for “failure to observe traffic signal”, even if there’s no traffic signal within 3km. Magutom ng MMDA “enforcers”, so the clerk that took my money said. Even the municipal employees and officials know who and the extent.
ED;
If I’m going to Mega Manila for any reason, and it had better be a damn good reason, I hire a van and let the driver worry about the “Color Coding”(As referred to on the local news every morning) and why do they call it color coding when it has nothing to do with color?
Only in the Philippines. Motor in bliss until you’re stopped on some fabrication and 500peso “merienda” isn’t enough. Better let a Pinoy drive, mas mura kasi mas mallit ng babayad mo ng multa sa wala. Maybe he can explain why 50p is all he has to surrender. Sa yang, talaga. Tapos, pretend you don’t understand any Tagalog and are just a stupid innocent tourist and pay up on the spot, whatever it reasonably requires.
Personally I don’t mind driving on mountain carabaw paths (heh, “national highway!”) with sheer cliffs on one side and huge boulders on the ‘safe’ side’, 1 meter deep mud in the middle, washouts, landslides and death for my family a micro-second away, but I sure don’t like driving anywhere around metro Manila.
Perspective tayo.
ED;
I drive myself and have for 20 years while living here, I once paid a traffic fine at court in the amount of PNP 200.00 for going thru a stop sign on the Subic Freeport. But in town and on the roads I’ve never paid a bribe, I just ask for the ticket and tell them I’m retired and like going to court. They have yet to write the ticket. Driving here is like when I lived in Puerto Rico, an adventure.
“I’m retired and I like going to court”… I like that one – will keep it in my back pocket in case I get pulled over. Chances are good, the same printing company is responsible for the Traffic Citation forms as well as the License Plates – and he won’t have the proper supplies anyways!
I’m coming up on my first full year here in a couple days and I’ve yet to see anyone pulled over by a cop for a speeding or other traffic violation (outside of Clarke, that is). It seems the cops where we live are too afraid to write tickets – Frankly, I wish they could do more to contain the chaos!
You could write a whole article on “How to interpret the Filipino traffic cop’s hand signals” – lol
John Weeks;
Writing a ticket requires them to show up to defend the ticket in case you fight it, (Or so I’ve been told) I might be true because when I polity ask for the ticket they tend to forgive my transgression and send me on my way. I guess I’ll never know.
As for reading the cops signal, Are we suppose to??? I just smile and wave as I drive through, they seem to understand. (LOL)
Heh, a renewal is already too expensive and onerous. New plates? Don’t expect them the same calendar year, bu DO expect to produce your docs and at “enforcers” whim pay up if they’re not happy with the truth.
ED;
There is talk about new tags for all cars in the Philippines, but with a 7 to 10 month delay providing them to new cars, I’d love to see them try to provide tags to the countless millions of older cars here on the Islands. I say; “Good luck Mr. LTO guy.”
Paul,
Did you ever get your referral bonus from Car World lol? Maybe when we get our car the process will be faster.But I wouldn’t count on it.
Papaduck;
I’d forgot about that, Mayang has spent that money months ago. But then we both knew that would happen. (LOL)
Hi Paul,
When I saw that closeup pic of the new license plate fastener I could not figure out what it was until I read the text of your article. I wonder what happens if the plate, or should I say ” tag ” needs to be replaced in the future ? It would not surprise me if some less than totally honest person or persons have already devised some kind of quick removal tool for the tamper proof fasteners already LOL. I wonder if they are stainless steel heat tempered fastener to prevent rust from the climate there. Nice looking car !
Bob New York;
The tag could be removed from the back, but the ability to open the hood and trunk would be required to access the nuts on the back. Or drill it off as you would a rivet. Larger minds than ours planned this out and I’ll wager they didn’t overlook any aspect, well except the police can’t tell if your tag is out of date.
The green plate from one of my motorcycles rusted away. I still have all the pieces in case a cop stopped me. Anyway, asked our office facilitator to help get a new plate. Said needed a notorized aftadavid on a lost plate, have the police verify its lost, pay a lot in fees and then may take 6 months to get a new plate that will have a R on it to indicate its a replacement. Or he can text his friend who works for the plate company that stamps them out for a few pesos and get me new plate from the source…. Tough decision.
Don;
Well there you go, if you ask there is always an easy way, but neither way is cheap, I went through that a few years ago when some kid scraped the front sticker of my tag. Months I waited and a lawyer of course was involved.
Paul,
I personally don’t own a vehicle, but I like many others found the information very useful for future use (if needed). However, I did enjoy reading your colorful article. I always get a kick out of your writing style. You make reading ‘fun’.
Off topic: Tell Chuck Norris I said, “Hello”.
Bill
Bill;
I’ll wager Chuck Norris could remove those tags!
I talk pretty much the same way and enjoy pointing out the absurdities in our lives, laughing far out shines complaining.
A colorful read.
Bill Asberry;
Thank you sir.
Hey Paul, regarding the third tag, did you remove the tint on your windshield when you installed it? Or you placed it on the tinted glass? I just received my new plate today. And btw, is it okay to remove the conduction sticker? Thanks!
Paul,
I know this is an old post, but I was doing a search about LTO third plates coming off the windshield and this post of yours came up. I remember reading it back when I was still in the US and not yet thinking about the details of our upcoming vehicle purchase.
We moved here on March 11th and ordered our Toyota Innova. It was delivered on March 18th because they found an identical model available just coming off the line that the original ordering dealer could no longer sell. Score one for us!
On the day of delivery, our sales professional advised us of a stack of “original” purchase contracts signed by the dealership manager. There were probably 8 or 10 of them. He advised us that we are only authorized to drive our vehicle without the registration for one week after the original sale, but that was only really checked in Metro Manila and mainly on the EDSA. He told us that, should we be driving in Manila, we should take one of the stack of “original” purchase contracts, sign at date it the day before, and carry on.
He went on to say that the current delay on delivery of license plates from LTO is 5 to 6 months. We asked him if we could get more “original” purchase contracts should we use up all the one he already gave us; he assured us that we could.
Set the clock forward exactly two weeks, April 1, 2015. I received a message from our sales professional that the LTO had just enacted a “no plates no travel” rule and we should avoid driving in Manila. Well, it’s easy to say that my wife and I went totally ballistic at this point. After doing some research, we saw where allegations that vehicle dealerships were “holding” registration requests for vehicles purchased for cash (as ours was) in order to expedite the processing of the financed vehicles, since the law doesn’t allow for interest to accrue until all ownership documents (and plates) are in the owner’s hands.
We had already made plans to travel into Manila to take care of my immigration paperwork, and it was not acceptable to us that we couldn’t use a vehicle we had paid well north of a million pesos to own. We demanded a meeting with the dealership manager and told our sales professional to contact us with the time of the meeting. Within 24 hours, he told us our plates would be in the next Wednesday. It was actually the next Thursday, but we still got plated up in time for my trip to BI.
Now let’s talk about the “temporary” driver’s license I still have in my wallet, that was issued nearly 4 months ago…..
As a sort of PS, sorry we haven’t hooked up to grab lunch or something, but we actually haven’t been down to Olongapo since you let me know things were back to normal for you. I hoping we can get back down there soon.
Wow 7 months?? We purchased our Toyota here in Cebu Last year February and still have no plates available. OMG 1 year it is stupid. When can I remove the yellow conduction stickers from front and back windows??
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