Philippines Delays Universal Vehicle Tracking Plan
Government leaders in the Philippines are seriously considering a universal vehicle tracking system that would closely monitor all vehicles traveling in the country.
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Manila initially set Oct. 1 as the day to start implementing the massive vehicle tracking program. Vehicle owners were to pay a one-time fee to defray the cost of the government-issued vehicle tracking unit, and they could pay for the vehicle tracking system over the course of 10 years.
The vehicle tracking program, however, was temporarily shelved amid strong resistance, especially from business groups and car makers. Lobbyists insisted that the launch of country-wide vehicle tracking was rushed and that more input is needed to ensure that the vehicle tracking would be fair and would not infringe on anyone’s privacy.
The government insists it has honest intentions with the vehicle tracking initiative: to make the vehicle registration process faster, help reduce car thefts, better enforce clean air laws, and weed out unregistered vehicles used in public transportation.
Critics point out that the vehicle tracking system would also give the government the ability to track and possibly put pressure on citizens who might be involved in questionable activities or who speak out against their leaders or the country’s programs.
Two possible “cutting edge technologies” for the LTO’s vehicle tracking program include Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking and Global Positioning System (GPS tracking).
The RFID vehicle tracking system proposed would likely involve tagging every vehicle with a sticker on the window. The vehicle tracking sticker, which would be tamper proof, would be embedded with a microchip containing important vehicle and ownership information. The vehicle tracking tags would send signals, which could be read by strategically-placed receivers at street corners, toll booths and telephone booths. The vehicle tracking data would then be sent on to a central processing center.
GPS tracking technology allows the transmission of much more information than RFID, including vehicle speed, direction, route and moment-to-moment locating. GPS tracking uses a combination of GPS satellite signals and wireless networks to receive and transmit vehicle tracking data; also to a remote location where the vehicle tracking data could be processed.
There is little doubt that a city, state, province or even country-wide vehicle tracking program would save money and improve safety. But there is always a public hesitation to accept technological advances in vehicle tracking, at the expense of personal privacy. So far, all legal debates on the subject of GPS tracking have concluded that the practice, by government agencies, is legal in public places. Still questionable is whether it can be done without a warrant, and without the vehicle owner’s knowledge and consent.
The Land Transportation Office, which now has the heavy burden of deciding for or against a government-instituted vehicle tracking system in the Philippines, is empowered with maintaining and developing the country’s transportation system. The office registers vehicles, operates the traffic court system, enforces transportation laws and raises revenues for the government in the form of fines, licenses and permits. There are about 6 million vehicles registered in the Philippines.
Source: Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation
Tags: Government, philipines, transportation, Vehicle Tracking
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