PIMENTEL SEEKS BAN ON LOW-NUMBERED CAR PLATES

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr. is seeking a ban on the issuance of low-number protocol or courtesy plates on vehicles of high-ranking government officials.

?The issuance of those low-numbered car plates for high government officials paints an ugly picture that top-level public servants are a special lot, entitled to treatment and privileges not enjoyed by ordinary Filipinos,? Pimentel said.

Under Senate Bill 1158 authored by the senator from Mindanao, all low-numbered car plates starting from No. 2, all the way down to the numbers now being assigned to Cabinet members and bureau directors issued in the past will be cancelled and deemed withdrawn.

Once the bill becomes a law, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) shall henceforth desist from issuing protocol, courtesy or vanity low-numbered car plates for these public officials.

Justifying his proposal, Pimentel said certain public officials have the twisted notion that the low-numbered plates give them a license to break traffic regulations.

"Many high-ranking government officials and middle-level bureaucrats today roam our streets like members of royalty in heavily-tinted vehicles sporting low-numbered car plates. They evoke a false impression that these favored few are exempt and insulated from the reach of traffic rules and regulations," he said.

Saying these low-numbered plates smacks of delusions of grandeur, Pimentel said there is no legitimate reason for ranking government officials to be accorded this kind of special privilege.

"Since they are public servants, they should be at the forefront in observing road regulations that are to be followed by all. They should lead by example," he said.

Under the Pimentel bill, the official vehicles of the President and those of representatives of foreign states, as provided by any treaty, agreement or protocol sanctioned by international law or practice shall likewise be exempted from the ban on the use of protocol plates. But these exemptions shall not apply to representatives of foreign states or international organizations that do not grant Filipino diplomatic representative similar privileges.

The bill provides that any person driving cars with unauthorized low-numbered plates shall, upon conviction, be fined a minimum of P10,000 to a maximum of P50,000 or imprisonment of one month and one day as minimum to six months as maximum.