A senator Sunday threatened to file a suit against the Land Transportation Office (LTO) unless the agency explains its collection of P350 from vehicle owners for the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) project.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. said that he is wondering why the agency started collecting fees when the new system is not yet in place.

He said the compulsory payment of the RFID fee before cars and motorcycles are registered by the LTO is tantamount to an illegal exaction.

This is because there is no law that allows it and the motorists will not benefit from the system until it becomes operational by November this year.

“The RFID gadget is not yet available.

But why are they already collecting the fee?" Pimentel said.

"I am going to sue them unless they can come up with a good explanation because a lot of people are being victimized by this extortionist act,” he said.

The LTO has started tagging motor vehicles since Jan. 4.

The P350 fee is supposed to cover the cost of the RFID sticker which is placed on the windshield of every car.

The sticker contains a microchip which stores all the basic information about a motor vehicle.

It is through the sticker that the LTO personnel will monitor the movements of vehicles and determine which of them are colorum, unregistered, and improperly registered cars.