sabi nga nila..the grass is greener on the other side...
for the LTO fees that we've been paying..wala na siguro tayong magagawa. it's either we pay up or just keep our MC's. i register 3 mc's a year. i do all my transactions in one LTO branch. they've given me the least hassles and they have no fixers walking around the compound. the emission testing facility is also in the compound. usually i have a guy who assists me (and also stencils my bike...he has been doing this for me since 2002). i hand to him a photocopy of the OR/CR, he gets me a registration form, we go over to the emission test. i pay for the test. while waiting for the print out, he goes over to the insurance people to get me a TPL. after the emission test where i personally start my bike, i go over to the insurance people and pay for the TPL. my friend is already stenciling my bike. when i have my TPL, form, etc i walk over to the office of the LTO, hand my papers to a person behind a window and wait for the cashier to call the name for payment. i pay then move to another window for the sticker. i look for my friend and give him pangmeryenda. this process does not take me more than 1.5 hours, and costs around 1300. i go to LTO Manila South near San Andres.
i was lucky enough to get a D and M license in the US, in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. i bought a motorcycle first before a car. the first question i had to ask - can i get a motorcycle license without getting a driver's license? nobody could answer me but instead they made me take two 'written' permit exams - one for D and another for M ($30 each!) I also had to register my motorcycle, which transfers ownership of the bike to me. In Mass, the plates stay with the owner. You need to get insurance first to register the bike ($200-$300...equivalent to a TPL) then pay the registration fee of the bike ($75) plus 5% tax (on amount paid, say for a $4000 bike, you pay $200). To finally get your D and M license you pony up $75 and $50 respectively after paying the road test fees ($40?). where does the money go? i guess paying for the RMV employees, sweeping the roads especially when there's snow, etc
when i read your posts, akala ko lumang posts na ito. i only experienced this in the Pasay LTO branch, nung dati pa. It takes a day to finish the transactions, walang gagalaw kung walang fixer. but you guys don't have to be angry. we accept some things, but we realize some costs are too small para masira ang araw mo di ba? at some point we carefully make choices para hindi taya masyadong ma hassle at mastress. or maybe matanda na kasi ako kaya ayoko nang ma stress.
