LTO-NegOcc to get more funding, personnel

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) Bacolod District Office has been converted into the Negros Occidental Licensing Center for a more efficient delivery of services.

Bacolod City Lone District Representative Greg Gasataya said under Republic Act (RA) 11818, the conversion act which lapsed into law on June 2, the local LTO hub will get an additional operational budget and personnel as well as a bigger office to better address the clients’ needs.

It has been proposed that the current manpower be increased to more than 20 regular personnel from the current four, he added.

“The current workforce find themselves flooded by applications from their large constituency resulting in transactions that could be more efficient through an increase in personnel, improvement of facilities and greater operational budget,” Gasataya said.

The lawmaker noted that motor vehicle use in the metropolitan Bacolod area has been on the upward trend with the rising economy in Western Visayas.

As such, transactions for services provided by the LTO in relation to motor vehicle registration and issuance of driver’s license have similarly increased, he said.

Section 2 of RA 11818 provides that the Secretary of Transportation will immediately include in the department’s programs the operationalization of the LTO Negros Occidental Licensing Center, and its funding will be included in the General Appropriations Act.* (Nanette Guadalquiver)