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SECURED PLATES – Samples of the new license plates(Michael Varcas:mb.com.ph) |
People will also have to say goodbye to the old design of the plates: the blue/white/green or blue/yellow/green gradient with the picture of Rizal’s monument as a background and the bylines- “Matatag na Republika”, “Pilipinas” or “Perlas ng Silangan”. Instead there will be a color change, with two solid colors as the design on which private vehicles will have black on white, public ones will retain the black on yellow; government-owned motor vehicles and motorcycles will have the same red-on-white plates while diplomatic plates deploy the blue-on-white design. Added unto that, protocol plates will use the green-on-white design previously assigned to private motor vehicles and motorcycles while other exempt vehicles will use black-on-blue hue. These, according to LTO, will help people recognize the vehicle ownership. Also, PUV’s plate will indicate region and PUB’s will indicate whether it is a provincial or a city bus with their third-plate stickers indicate their routes.
Although some drivers went against these decisions, the LTO defended that these new plates will actually help weed out colorum vehicles, reduce traffic and enforce the law more effectively. It will also help avoid the modus operandi: “tanggal plaka”, carjacking and officers will easily discover those vehicles which are stolen and were transported to another place.
The LTO also announced that even though there were changes in the vehicle plates, the current price will hold, with 450 php for four-wheeled vehicles and 120 php for motorcycles.