In order to free up space at the crowded Land Transportation Office (LTO) compound along East Avenue in Quezon City, Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres Thursday asked the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to accommodate the agency's impounded vehicles at their Makati City headquarters.

Torres said the creation of an LTO satellite impounding area within the MMDA compound is almost a done deal after former MMDA chairman Oscar Inocentes only required her to provide security personnel for the area.

Torres clarified that initial talks with the MMDA did not require the LTO to pay for rent, saying the agency has no budget allocation for rentals for impounding areas.

But the transfer of impounded vehicles did not take place due to the expected change in MMDA leadership.

Former Tagaytay City Mayor Francis Tolentino officially replaced Inocentes last Monday.

"But I'm still hoping our plan will still pursue (with the new MMDA chief). The sooner the transfer of impounded vehicles, the sooner I'll be able to beautify the LTO central office," she said.

Presently, public and private utility vehicles with faked plates, breached franchise (or without franchise), and other violations are impounded in the LTO main compound.

Under the law, owners of impounded vehicles are supposed to retrieve the vehicles 72 hours after confiscation. Unclaimed vehicles will be considered as government property after six months. To dispose of unclaimed vehicles, the LTO also sells them through public bidding.