The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has informed the Office of the Ombudsman that nationwide operations have been hampered by outages in the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS), while ongoing legal disputes involving the system’s contractor continue to complicate efforts to fully migrate and independently operate the platform.
In a June 5 letter to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin C. Remulla, LTO assistant secretary Markus V. Lacanilao said the agency was responding to a May 29 directive from the Ombudsman regarding the LTMS, the government-owned digital platform used for licensing, registration, and other transport-related transactions.
“The LTMS has suffered outages” since June 3, Lacanilao said, adding that the disruption had affected LTO operations nationwide “to the detriment of the public.”
The LTO said it had not removed public access to the LTMS or access by the Dermalog joint venture, and expressed willingness to discuss any access concerns with the contractor in the presence of representatives from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
The agency also questioned recommendations that it immediately cease using Stradcom’s LTO information technology system, arguing that several legal and operational issues remain unresolved.
Among these are a pending case before the Supreme Court seeking to void Dermalog JV’s LTMS contract, alleged unlawful contract extensions and amendments worth about P700 million, and findings cited in Commission on Audit notices involving more than P1.27 billion in alleged non-deliverables under the project.
The LTO also noted that Dermalog JV has filed a petition for injunction before a Quezon City court and has initiated arbitration proceedings. In addition, the agency said it received a formal notice from Dermalog informing it of the end of the contract and cessation of services.
“These legal proceedings have complicated matters and have made the continued use of the LTMS difficult,” the LTO said.
The agency further told the Ombudsman that full migration to the LTMS remains “untenable” because of both technical and legal concerns.
It also cited a House of Representatives committee hearing where representatives of the Dermalog JV allegedly sought funding of P2.48 billion for the system’s operation and maintenance.
According to the LTO, it has issued 15 demand letters over the past four years seeking the turnover of the LTMS database, source codes, licenses, and other deliverables that it said remain outstanding.
The agency asked the Ombudsman to grant it more than five days to ensure what it described as reciprocal compliance by the parties involved while the issues are being resolved.
