Monitoring operations conducted by the Land Transportation Office and the National Bureau of Investigation against smuggled cars in Negros Occidental have rendered negative results, LTO provincial head Norman Saril said yesterday.

Saril said the NBI sought their assistance in December for its operation against “hot cars” after imported luxury cars were monitored to have been be smuggled into the country.

He said it will be difficult to smuggle imported cars in Negros Occidental as it does not have an international port that can directly and discreetly handle the illegal activity.

The LTO provincial office is not authorized to issue registration for imported luxury vehicles, making it almost improbable to secure legal documents for “hot cars” without alerting the authorities, he said.

Saril added that imported cars brought to Negros Occidental are registered and cleared by the Customs office in Manila or Cebu .

He added that the office of Department of Transportation and Communication Assistant Secretary Reynaldo Berroya has issued a memorandum designating only one LTO district office in Manila to handle the registration of imported vehicles.

Meanwhile, Saril said his office will continue to intensify its campaign for vehicle registration this year after posting an increase in its target last year.

He said the LTO patrol car goes out to the street everyday to check the registration papers of motor vehicles plying different routes in Negros Occidental.*NAB

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