LTO vows to end crime, pollution with RFID

EFFECTIVE October 2009 the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will implement a cutting edge technology that will revolutionize motoring and land transportation in the country. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology will be used to enhance and speed up the vehicle registration process while providing the motoring public with many benefits that will greatly improve land transportation in the country. RFID is a cutting edge technology that uses radio waves to identify vehicles and related information remotely and in real time. The use of this technology will allow the LTO and other law enforcement agencies to access vehicle information to aid in traffic management, law enforcement and crime prevention. Among the many benefits that this technology will provide motorists and commuters are: First, the system is expected to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the LTO’s law enforcement capabilities, effectively improving traffic conditions via the apprehension of frequent violators and out-of-the-line vehicles. Second, air pollution will be lessened as the system will eradicate the practice of non-appearance of vehicles subject to smoke emissions testing, effectively barring smoke belchers from the streets. Third, legitimate Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) operators and drivers as well as commuters will be well-protected as the RFID will be able to identify and verify franchise records, thus keeping colorums off the road. And finally, it can serve as a major deterrent against carnapping because law enforcers will have access to information on possible “hot” vehicles in real time. “The RFID technology will revolutionize land transportation in the Philippines. This is a great first step in putting order in our streets,” said Assistant Secretary Arturo Lomibao. The new system involves the tagging of a sticker on all vehicles. The sticker contains a microchip that will store vehicle information but is completely tamper proof and can only be retrieved by authorized LTO personnel and law enforcers. Motorists will only pay a one-time tagging fee of P350 as they register their vehicles. The LTO RFID tag is expected to last for ten years, which means that the RFID effectively costs just P35 per year. This is considerably less expensive compared to the more than P1,500 paid for other RFID technologies such as the e-pass and ec-tag. “We are confident of the enormous benefits this technology will provide to the public in general and enjoin our motorists to have their vehicles tagged with the RFID beginning October of this year,” Lomibao added. RFID technology has been used to manage traffic and vehicular registries in the United States, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and other countries. The LTO RFID tags will be available at all LTO offices beginning October 1, 2009. By: Jun Icban-Legaspi - JOurnal online

RFID system to help track pupils? PNP floats idea

THE Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system, originally used by manufacturers to track inventories, is now in wide use for other applications, including the tracking and retrieval of medical records. But soon, if the chief of Metro Manila’s police force were to be followed, it could also be an innovative way to ensure the safety and security of students while inside the school premises.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Regional Director, Chief Supt, Roberto Rosales, made the suggestion on Monday to Metro Manila public-school superintendents and parents-teachers association (PTA) officials.

RFID is a relatively new technology that uses a device attached to an object, an identification card, for example, for purposes of identifying and tracking the person or the carrier of the object using radio waves. This object, typically referred to as an RFID tag, can be read from several meters.

RFID is now being used by some manufacturing companies in managing inventories of their products. It is also being used in some hospitals abroad to help doctors and nurses retrieve medical data of patients given an RFID device through a handheld device connected to a central server.

In a round of inspection that Rosales led on Monday morning in connection with the opening of classes for school year 2009-10, he asked school officials to consider the use of RFID to monitor the whereabouts of students while inside the campus and to prevent the entry of unauthorized individuals posing as students.

Rosales visited P. Gomez Elementary School in Sta. Cruz, Manila and Ramon Magsaysay High School where he finished his elementary and high school, respectively, and the Caloocan National High School.

Caloocan National High School, which has 9,343 students enrolled for this year, has the biggest number of students in the country, according to the Department of Education.

Rosales said NCRPO will continue to be under Full Alert Status for the next two weeks to cover the opening of classes for elementary and high school this week as well as the opening of classes for collegiate level next week.

Relatedly, Major Gamal Hayudini, commander of the 4th Civil Relations Group, Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said students are among the primary targets of lawless groups, “especially the left-leaning organizations in their recruitment.”

Students are also at risk from kidnap-for-ransom groups, said the AFP, citing what happened in Barangay Sunrise, Isabela City, Basilan, earlier this year where a school boy was kidnapped even during peak hours of the day.

Still, the AFP and the PNP have strengthened security measures “to protect the students and the teachers” but also requested them to cooperate “with authorities against these criminals.”

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday said the first day of classes went on smoothly.

Still, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said they had instructed school authorities to keep a tight watch over students for signs of the A(H1N1) virus.

Lapus said he has made the use of faucets and hand washing a daily routine for students and ordered all schools to make sure they have running water.

The DepEd and the health department have set up a response-alert system similar to that of typhoons, that would allow school authorities to suspend classes if needed.

During the weekend, the Departments of Health and Education rejected last-minute calls to suspend classes over the A (H1N1) scare, saying that doing so might cause panic and disrupt preparations for the opening of classes in 43,000 schools nationwide.

Lapus urged parents to call their “Oplan Balik Eskwela” command center at 636-1663 and text 0919-4560027 for complaints.

He said the DepEd has quick-response teams that are on call from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As of Monday afternoon, the DepEd had received 352 queries and complaints, of which 348 were resolved. Most complaints involved the collection of fees.

During the press conference after his school inspection, Lapus reminded school authorities against collecting fees of any kind during this month. Written by Claudette Mocon / Business Mirror

LTO on 96th year launches two IT-aided programs

By Riza T. Olchondra - Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) marked its 96th anniversary on Thursday with the launch of two technology-aided innovations.

The LTO on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement to interconnect its vehicle registration database with the Bureau of Customs' (BOC) payment database for imported vehicles.

The interconnection will enable the implementation of a second program, the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Project.

Under this project, registered vehicles will be issued RFID stickers that store vehicle data, including such details as whether it has an authenticated certificate of payment from the BOC and whether it complies with registration requirements such as low smoke emission.

For public utility vehicles, the RFID tag will also contain its franchise details from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

LTO chief Alberto Suansing said that aside from improving compliance, the interconnection and RFID projects are expected to help improve revenue for the agencies involved.

"Millions of pesos in potential government revenue are lost annually due to non-compliance with vehicle registration requirements," he said, adding the projects will help plug tax leakages.