The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading the establishment of a district office of the Land Transportation Office in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental.
House Bill 8034, authored by Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District), aims to fast-track the applications for drivers’ licenses and vehicle registrations in the area.
“Our dream of having an LTO district office will soon be fulfilled. Once passed into law, this will bring the services of LTO closer to the people of the Third District and ensure the speedy disposition of applications,” Benitez said in a statement yesterday.
Aside from E.B. Magalona town, the province’s third district, located north of Bacolod, is also comprised of the municipality of Murcia, and the cities of Silay, Talisay, and Victorias.
In an explanatory note of the bill, that was passed on Tuesday, Benitez pointed out the economic growth in the district has been driving an increase in the volume of LTO transactions overwhelming the agency’s office in Bacolod.
“It is, therefore, necessary to create a new DO for the Third District for the efficient delivery of LTO services,” he said.
In December 2019, the municipal government of E.B. Magalona donated a parcel of land to the LTO for the construction of an extension office. “The huge demand from the Third District, however, requires the expansion of LTO operations from an EO to a regular DO,” Benitez said, adding that the revenues derived from the transactions in the district will support its operations.*PNA
