MANILA — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Friday said it was easing the implementation of its "no registration, no travel" policy for the rest of December.

"Hindi muna tayo mag-i-impound. We instructed, sa utos na rin ito ni [Transport] Secretary [Jaime] Bautista, ‘wag na muna mag-impound ng mga sasakyan na unregistered, bigyan sila ng pagkakataon na magrehistro," LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said.

"Kasi ‘pag na-impound ‘yan, dagdag P10,000 ang babayaran nila, so dagdag bigat ‘yan," he told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

The policy will be implemented again in January next year, the LTO chief said.

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Around 24.7 million vehicles are classified as delinquent. The figure represents around 65 percent of all motor vehicles in the country, the LTO said.

The high delinquency rate could have been "an offshoot of the pandemic," which made registering vehicles difficult, Mendoza said.

"Na-carry over na, siguro akala nila ang bigat-bigat na ng penalty nila when in fact hindi," he said. "Kahit ilang taon po ‘yan delingkwente, ang flat rate lang naman ng penalty natin, 50 percent. It does not increase every year."

He advised delinquent motor vehicles to set aside a portion of their 13th month pay and bonuses to renew their vehicle registration.