LTO to implement RFID tags

[Altis6453]

According to Stradcom's PR man who was interviewed this morning, this project was bid out by the DOTC/LTO sometime in 1997 and was eventually awarded to Stradcom.

The host raised some very valid questions which were, unfortunatley, not answered for lack of time, specifically:

1. If bidding of the Project was conducted more than 10 years ago, why is it being implemented only now?

2. Considering the rapid changes in technology, wouldn't the RFID be considered as completely obsolete in the next 5 or 10 years? Meaning, motor vehicle owners would still be paying year in and year out for something which would be totally rendered useless or irrelevant?

I think some of the things which still need to be cleared up are:

1. What information is stored in the RFID sticker and who has the authority access to them?
2. Is the LTO completely eliminating the issuance of paper CPCN's/Franchise in favor of the RFID stickers? Are they even tamper-proof?
3. The TV/Radio commercials claim that this will reduce colorum, traffic and smoke-belching, of all things. How so? Does it prevent use of the motor vehicle or does it merely identify the vehicle as non-compliant?

I think one of the obvious flaws here is that the ID tags store only the information regarding the registered owner of the vehicle and not necessarily the person driving it. So, if someone else happens to be driving your car at the time of an accident, you may be held equally responsible as the driver (if they are even able to idenitify and detain him).

[james00112233]

from abs-cbnnews.com

[SIZE=3]LTO project 'a midnight deal': lawmaker[/SIZE]

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/24/2009 11:58 AM
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LTO chief says it will ease traffic
MANILA - Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño on Thursday said the P2.45 bilion radio frequency identification (RFID) project of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has all the makings of a "midnight deal" for being both overpriced and failing to go under public bidding.
Casiño said a group of public interest lawyers will seek a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the project's implementation after discovering that the project did not undergo any public hearing or bidding before it was approved. He said he based his observations on a department circular of the Department of Transportation and Communications and a memorandum circular of the LTO.
"This smells and looks like a midnight deal. This merits a congressional investigation...," he said in a radio dzMM interview.
Casiño said the two documents showed that RFID project was inserted as an "enhancement" of an existing LTO information technology project, which was undertaken by Stradcom Corporation under a build-operate-own (BOO) scheme. He said the original cost of the project is P2.45 billion.
Under the project, all vehicles will be given stickers containing a microchip that stores vehicle information. The chip allows traffic enforcers to identify and know everything about a specific vehicle with the speed of electronic computing.
The LTO said motorists will pay a one-time tagging fee of P350 when they register their vehicles. The RFID tag is expected to last 10 years.
Casiño, however, said RFID tags only cost about $0.10 to $0.20 or about P10 each, based on a random check on the Internet. "Even if we double the price, it should still be cheaper than the P350 that LTO will be charging," he said.
He also questioned a notation on LTO memorandum circular 2009-11 that said the RFID tags will contain "other data deemed necessary", which he said violates the vehicle owner's right to privacy.
Casiño said members of the National Union of People's Lawyers have found sufficient grounds to question the RFID project. "We are asking for official documents including the contract [with Stradcom]. We are waiting for the contract before filing the legal case," he said.
Ease traffic, fight carnapping
Transportation Assistant Secretary Arturo Lomibao earlier said the RFID tags will lead to more efficient traffic law enforcement through the quick identification of “colorum” vehicles. This in turn will help improve traffic flow and lessen air pollution.
He said law enforcers could also use the RFID tags to identify stolen vehicles in real time as they pass scanners in police checkpoints along their routes of escape.
Lomibao said RFID technology is being used to manage traffic and vehicular registries in the United States, Britain, and other western countries; and in Asia, by Japan and Singapore.
“The RFID technology will revolutionize land transportation in the Philippines. This is a great first step in putting order in our streets,” said Lomibao.
He said the RFID tags are also used in in e-passports, which are now being issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs. With Business Mirror

[joseph20]

As a student and in my own opinion:

Me:A BIG NO!!! Ayoko, kasi It can be used as intelligence tactics or locator. kahit wala address naka info doon sa chip, nandun naman name ng owner, isang tawag lang sa NSO,City Hall, malalaman na present Address mo. Mahirap na. We cannot say that all traffic enforcers na may hawak nung Device ehh, mapagkakatiwalaan.

E.G: Naka Luxury Car ka, maisipan ka na tiktikan cause they think your rich, malalaman na name mo , at madali lang nila malaman kung saan address mo, sabi ko nga, we cannot tell na lahat ng hahawak ng device na yan ehh mapagkakatiwalaan!! For anit- colorum reasons, why hindi sila makapag deploy ng officers nila sa maraming lugar at duon sila mag sawa ng kakahuli. Kung kulang mga tao nila, its not our problem.

[shadow]

diba si Asec. Lumibao eh tatakbong Congressman yata sa Pangasinan....hhhmmmm mukhang kailangang ng pangastos..

[redshift]

Do we really need this?

[ronw123w124]

Parang di yata matutuloy ito, marami na kasi kumokontra like CHR and NTC according to the TV Patrol kanina.

[beereo]

Parang di yata matutuloy ito, marami na kasi kumokontra like CHR and NTC according to the TV Patrol kanina.

i also heard it in the news. a professor from dlsu said that there is a possibility that the tags might be cloned. it happened in a european country where rfid tags used for passports were cloned.

[ghosthunter]

i also heard it in the news. a professor from dlsu said that there is a possibility that the tags might be cloned. it happened in a european country where rfid tags used for passports were cloned.

I guess since the tags is programmed with the info, the data can be re-programmed to show something else.

[ghosthunter]

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/173188/p...s-rfid-project

[SIZE="4"]Palace agrees to reconsider LTO’s RFID project[/SIZE]
AIE BALAGTAS SEE, GMANews.TV
09/25/2009 | 10:39 PM

No less than Malacañang on Friday called on the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to reconsider its microchip program for vehicles due to alleged irregularities, after former socioeconomic planning chief Ralph Recto said the project did not undergo the proper legal process.

"That would be certainly be an issue especially if it comes from someone like former Secretary Recto. That is an example of an issue that ought to be looked at and discussed more thoroughly," deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said.

“Bigyan natin ng konsiderasyon yung mga comment, mga pagpuna, pagtutol na inilabas mula sa iba’t ibang grupo (Let us give consideration to comments, criticisms and objections aired by various groups)," Olivar added.

The project will require vehicles to carry Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) microchips, which will cost a P350 one-time fee per motorist.

In his earlier statement, Recto said the RFID project did not undergo proper evaluation from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as required by law.

Recto said under Memorandum Circular 137-2007 of the Office of the President, the heads of national government agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations are required to get clearance from NEDA before they impose new fees or increase existing ones.

He added that a similar NEDA memorandum, Circular 01-2008, also requires all businesses to undergo the agency's evaluation before applying any fee augmentation.

"The evaluation of new or increased fees or charges needs to be coordinated with stakeholders to ensure that rates are just and reasonable and to minimize if not avoid unintended impact on established national priorities and the general public," he said.

In a television interview, LTO chief Arturo Lomibao explained that it was not necessary for NEDA to evaluate the project because RFID was merely an “enhancement" of the Department of Transportation and Communication’s information technology project in 1998 with Stradcom Corporation.

Lomibao said that LTO former Chair Alberto Suansing endorsed the RFID project to the DOTC, which in turn concurred based on a study by their legal department. This study concluded that the project did not require bidding because “it is just an enhancement LTO IT project," he added.

Suansing also welcomed any moves by critics to challenge the legality of the project.


For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Aside from Recto, several sectors on Thursday also expressed misgivings on the pending implementation of the project.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said in a radio interview that the P2.45 billion project appeared like a “midnight deal" because it did not go through a public hearing. Gabriela party-list Rep. Liza Maza, for her part, said the RFID program might be used to violate the right to privacy of individuals.

Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) secretary general George San Mateo also rejected the project, saying the government could use the chips to track down drivers who participate in protests. He said that the P350 installation fee will be an added burden to drivers.

Lomibao denied that there was no public consultation. He said they have conducted dialogues with several transport groups and the project was even endorsed by transport group party-list 1-Utak.

Nonetheless, Lomibao said he is open to reschedule the project’s implementation to give more time for dialogues with its critics.

“We are supposed to implement this in October, but looking at the views of some sectors of the public, then I said we are open for more dialogues," he said.

He however said that the date adjustment is subject to DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza’s approval.

Lomibao also allayed fears that RFID chips would be used to spy on motorists. He said the devices that will be used to read data on RFID chips will have a “limited range" of 10 meters.

He added that the RFID technology is not a new one and has been used in other countries. - GMANews.TV

My comment on that last sentence: "Corruption in this country is not a new idea, it has been used in this country so-many times before and the people are sick of it already".

[straker]

I'd rather see improvements in the manner LTO conducts its business with motoring public, rather than enagage on a more ambitious undertaking.

They can barely get the basics right, in the car registration process! Ako galit na sa LTO sa patung-patung na kasalanan nila sa akin.