The pandemic Covid-19 has caused a lot systemic changes in our daily lives, chief of which is how we do business and interact with each other. The social distancing rule that needs to be observed during the new normal requires major shifts in customer and client services.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is very aware of this situation and has been, for some time now, working with their digital technology partner DERMALOG to develop an online portal system and to render automation of public services from driver’s license application and renewal, motor vehicle registration, penalties and online payment access from the safety of their homes and office anytime. 

Today, applying for all kinds of licenses, or paying driver’s licenses fees online is now possible after LTO launched its new registration portal “portal.lto.gov.ph”. The program went live last May 18 and can now service the needs of drivers and vehicle owners in the Philippines.

The portal provides fast and 24/7 access to the agency’s services via computer, tablet or smartphone. For those who are abroad, they can also register at the portal.

Especially in this time of COVID-19 and the resulting limitations on freedom of movement, the new system presents a significant benefit that is aligned to the digital economy of the  government.

With the online transactions of the other services of LTO shaping up, we expect a significant reduction of queues and eventually all transactions can be made online. The spread of the pandemic through crowded places like it used to be in LTO will be mitigated when citizens begin to  avail of the online services of LTO. 

The online services of the driver’s license is now available in Laoag, Bayombong, Roxas, Tagbuilaran, Dumaguete, Ormoc, Butuan, Pagadian, Malaybalay, Lipa, Calapan, Naga, Tagum, Davao City, General Santos, and Baguio, Angeles, San Fernando, Binan, LTO Central Office and Quezon City of the National Capital Region. 

The new online portal of LTO is combined with a so-called LTMS (Land Transport Management System). It includes an Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) from DERMALOG with face recognition and fingerprint identification, which prevents false or double identities. The law enforcers will have an apprehending biometric device that will automate ticketing of traffic violations and payment of penalties. The student license examination under the LTMS has facial recognition that will ensure that the applicant and the examinee is one and the same person.

Furthermore, the new LTMS system allows an easy integration of verification services of other government agencies in the Philippines such as with the Bureau of Customs, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation etc.

LTO employees also benefit from the agency’s transformation. Requests can be processed with a few clicks thanks to the new system. This saves time and high costs for the Land Transportation Office making public service more efficient. In addition, LTO staff is learning to embrace  the latest technology.

With the elimination of long queues, the citizens’ time is better used productively for daily wage earners especially rather than be glued in traffic jams on the way to LTO and from there, being stuck waiting for your turn to get your transaction processed.

As a leading system integrator in the field of government digitization, DERMALOG has developed the portal and Land Transport Management System (LTMS) for LTO. To implement LTO’s extensive modernization, the joint venture of Dermalog as lead and technology provider,  Microgenesis, Verzontal Construction, Holy Family Printing has also built a complete state of the art data center in the head office with the capacity of more than 5 petabytes and can accommodate  1 million transactions per day. 

The new portal makes LTO the most progressive agency in the Philippines and one of the most advanced government agencies worldwide when the full automation of all its public services will be completed.