Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez has directed the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to ensure that Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVICs) offer multiple payment options—including cash—for motor vehicle registration transactions, following public complaints over a mandatory P65 convenience fee for online payments.
The move comes after clients voiced frustration, especially on social media, over the limited payment option—GCash—available at a Vehicle Renewal Facility (VREF) in a PMVIC near Angono, Rizal.
Lopez emphasized the need to ease the financial burden on the public, particularly those without access to digital wallets.
“We should not make our countrymen suffer… P65 is a significant amount for many—it could go to food or transport,” Lopez said, adding that payment flexibility is key to better public service.
The LTO has been instructed to review the existing setup at VREFs to allow cash transactions and explore ways to eliminate or reduce online payment convenience fees. Additionally, the PMVIC Authorization Committee has been ordered to issue a show cause order to the concerned PMVIC for offering only a single payment method.
The LTO clarified that the VREF in question is located at a nearby PMVIC and not within its Angono district office.
The existing agreement between LTO and payment gateway Paynamics—which mandates the convenience fee plus VAT for online transactions—is set to expire this month.
