MANILA—The Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced on Friday that beginning Thursday next week (August 15), motorists who have paid the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) fees from August 1, 2009, to January 15, 2010, will be given refunds from their local LTO offices.
In a public advisory, the LTO said the refund will be given to motor vehicle registrants nationwide who paid RFID fees in compliance with DOTC Circular 2009-06, LTO Memorandum Circular NOS. ACL-2009-1199 and ACL-2009-1220.
LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante said the move is in compliance with the Supreme Court’s decision in G.R. No. 190431, dated January 31, 2017, ordering the refund of the RFID fees.
“It is only right the government gives back the full amount, as well as the interest, to the respective motor vehicle owners,” Galvante said in a statement.
A total of PHP359 will be given to a claimant of the RFID refund following their submission of an accomplished refund form and a photocopy of a government-issued ID at the LTO district office where it was collected.
In the case of a corporation or juridical person, an accomplished refund form must be submitted along with an original and notarized copy of a Secretary’s Certificate.
A master list containing all 85,657 valid claimants of the RFID refund will be distributed to LTO Regional and District Offices and posted where it can be viewed by the public.
For claimants who paid at LTO offices which subsequently have been closed or at mobile LTO sites, they may claim their refund at the nearest LTO Regional Office.
Due to failure to hold public bidding, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno partially granted a petition which declared a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Transportation, LTO and Stradcom Corporation on the RFID null and void.
“The RFID fees collected during the implementation of the RFID Project prior to the issuance of this Court’s Status Quo Ante Order are likewise ordered refunded to the payors thereof,” the decision read.