The Land Transportation Office (LTO) said Friday that it is open to the suggestion of more consultations with affected sectors before finally implementing the so-called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for all motor vehicles in the country.

The LTO decision came after a militant transport group and a business group, composed of car assemblers, both expressed concern over the R2.5-billion project, citing lack of consultations over the vehicle tracking device program.

Earlier, the LTO set October 1 as the start of the project's implementation which would require all motor vehicle owners to have an RFID sticker on windshields of their vehicles for a one-time fee of P350, valid for 10 years.

The militant Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) said that it was surprised by the announced implementation of the new program, saying that while it is good on the surface, it can be used to harass transport groups expressing legitimate concerns in the public transport sector.

“Nagulat kami dahil sa bilis ng implementattion ng bagong programang ito at kailangan naming konsulthain ang ibang grupo upang gumawa ng kaukulang tugon,” PISTON Chairman George San Mateo said. (“We were surprised by the swift launching the project, a plan that needs more consultations with other groups for proper reaction.”)

For its part, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMP) also expressed its concern over the project, claiming its members were not thoroughly consulted.

The business group said that while it recognizes the good intention of the project, it batted for more consultations before the project's full implementation.

The LTO said the RFID is “a cutting-edge technology” that will revolutionize motoring and land transportation in the country, enhancing the speed of the vehicle registration process and is a tool in crime prevention and detection.

Various sectors, however, raised a howl over the project, citing possible infringement on privacy rights and the possible use of the technology to harass government opponents.

In an earlier interview, Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) assistant secretary and LTO chief Arturo Lomibao said that contrary to other sectors’ fears, the new technology will benefit the transport industry, in particular, and the citizenry, in general.

“Among others, the RFID will help police in their anti-carnapping campaign because of the easy identification of vehicles, help in strict implementation of the Clean Air Act, and weed out colorum (illegal) vehicles in the public transport sector,” Lomibao said.

The new system involves the tagging of a sticker embedded with a microchip containing all the needed data on a particular vehicle.

The sticker is completely tamperproof and may only be retrieved by authorized LTO personnel and law enforcers.