LTO Motor Vehicle Registration Renewal

It's that time of the year again: the dreaded annual motor vehicle registration renewal of our beloved cars. Please remember that you cannot renew your vehicle registration in malls or DLRC. You have to go to an LTO branch near you. Bear in mind that we have different dates of deadlines for our cars depending on the plate numbers. Here's a guide to know when you're scheduled to register.

Ending Plate Number (Month Scheduled to Renew Registration)
1 - January
2 - February
3 - March
4 - April
5 - May
6 - June
7 - July
8 - August
9 - September
0 - October

Second to the Last Number (Scheduled Day of the Month to Register)
1, 2, 3 - 1st to 7th of the month
4, 5, 6 - 8th to 14th of the month
7, 8 - 15th to 21st of the month
9, 0 - 22nd to end of the month

If your plate number is XYZ-456, your ending plate number is 6 and that falls under June while your second to the last number is 5 which falls under the 8th to the 14th days of the month, so your scheduled date of registration should be within June 8th to the 14th. If you're unable to register within this period, there is a weekly fine of P200 and a 5% charge of the MVUC (Motor Vehicle User's Charge) every month. The MVUC can be seen in your OR as seen in the photo below.

Now that we know when you're supposed to renew your vehicle registration, let's get to the more important details. What do you need when registering your cars? There are only three things that you need:
1. OR/CR
2. Smoke Emissions Testing
3. Car Insurance

Yup. Those three are the only things you need to register. I understand that an early warning device (reflectorized triangle) was a requirement before but they no longer ask for that now, but just make sure that you have an EWD in your trunk like I did as it is an important tool for a vehicle in case of emergencies. I went to the Manila South District Office of the LTO beside Philippine Postal Corporation in Liwasang Bonifacio.

                              
Let's get to the step by step guide in renewing your motor vehicle registration.
1. A guide will welcome you upon entrance of your car and will advise you on what to do. He will ask for your vehicle insurance. If you don't have one he will ask you to get one from the insurance company inside the compound. My insurance cost 1,189 pesos.

2. Get a smoke emissions certificate from an accredited testing center. The fee for my sedan was 500 pesos. The testing takes 10 minutes for gas engines and 15 minutes for diesel engines. This LTO branch has an emissions testing center inside the compound.

Emissions testing area

3. After completing the insurance and emissions requirement, the guide will take the stencil of your VIN where you're parked and then complete filling up the forms. He will then submit the forms inside the office.

Parking lot in front of the office.

Motorcycle parking lot beside the office.

4. Wait inside as your renewal is being processed.

 

5. The cashier will call the name on your OR (be mindful of the name when called if it's not your name written) and proceed to pay the appropriate amount.

Waiting area

6. After paying, proceed immediately to the releasing window for your OR and new sticker, and you're done.

Everything was finished in about two hours. It took a bit longer than I expected. Total fees amounted to 3,289.06 pesos including the insurance and emissions testing for a regular-sized sedan. Please note that fees differ from other cars.

I hope this will help you in your next renewal of your motor vehicle registration.

LTO Driver's License Renewal

Recently, I went to LTO DLRC SM Manila Branch to renew my Driver’s License.  It’s located on the 5th floor of the mall.  This was also where I renewed my license three years ago and that experience was so smooth that I opted to renew my license here again.  When I arrived around 11 am, the place was already packed.  I got discouraged and wanted to leave and just come back another day but I had nothing else to do for the entire day so I figured I might as well do it now.

First mistake I made was I didn’t bring a pen.  I had to go all the way to the ground floor to buy a pen from National Book Store, so my first advice to you is to bring a pen.  Here are the steps that I underwent in the renewal of my Driver’s License.  Mind you that these are the steps in LTO DLRC SM Manila Branch.  Other branches may have different procedures.

 

Step 1:  Get your ADL (Application for Driver’s License) form from Window 1.  You will be asked to present your driver’s license to verify that you’re eligible for renewal or that your license is not expired.  Fill up the form accordingly.  Alternatively, you can download the ADL form in advance from the LTO website here and fill it out while you're still at home.

Step 2:  After filling up the ADL form, proceed to get your “medical” exam.  This was just an eye exam to test your vision and it’s going to cost you 200 pesos.  It shouldn't even be worth 50 pesos to be honest.  I thought it would’ve been less with the drug testing now removed from the protocol.

Step 3:  After you've finished your “medical” (I'm sorry but I just couldn't call it a medical exam with a straight face), submit your finished ADL form, “medical,” and current driver’s license to Window 1.

Step 4:  Your name will be called in Window 5 to get your picture and signature taken.

Step 5:  Your name will be called by the Cashier in Window 4 and there you will pay the fees.  A standard renewal will cost P350 for the License Fee and P67.63 for the Computer Fee for a total of P417.63.  Professional and Non-Professional licenses have the same fees.

Step 6:  You’re now in the last step.  When you hear your name called, you can now claim your Driver’s License ID and Official Receipt.  Sign on their logbook to indicate that you have received your license and then you’re done.

You can buy ID jackets for P20.00 if you want one.  They come in an assortment of colors.

The whole renewal process only took around an hour or maybe a bit more even though the branch was full of people when I arrived.  I thought it was going to take me the whole day but it didn’t.  They have properly streamlined the steps and I think it’s a great system that they’re implementing right now in order to finish the process as soon as possible.  It cost me P617.63 in total.  The P200.00 for the “medical” was really disappointing.  An eye test where you just have to read a Snellen chart and a bunch of numbers to test if you’re color blind shouldn’t cost that much.

Just for additional info, these are the penalties for expired driver’s licenses.

• penalty if expired 1 day to 1 year = 75.00
• 1 year and 1 day to 2 years = 150.00
• 2 years and 1 day to 10 years = 225.00

Jardin de Rosal Pasig

Just a few days ago, I found myself in this motel. I've heard so much about it but I have actually never been here before. As I arrived at around 9PM, I was second in line in the garage rooms. It is quite dark inside and I could tell that they value the privacy of their clients. After 15 minutes of waiting, the roomboy signals at me and lets me enter the garage. I slowly parked my car and had a quick conversation with the roomboy. I took a view around. The first floor is nothing but garage, then you take the stairs to get to the room in the second floor. For the price, the room is actually quite spacious, nice and clean on inspection.

Stairs from the garage to the room.

 

Garage door from inside.

 

Top view of stairs.

Their bathroom is also spacious. They have hot and cold shower. They also have slippers for you to use. What they are lacking though are basic toiletries. The only thing they will provide is soap. They don't provide shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush, so you better have those with you. Personally, that isn't a big deal. They do have a hairdrier though.

 

Rates.

What is a motel with no free wifi? Surprisingly, the wifi signal where I stayed was strong. And I can detect multiple hotspots. As far as I can remember there were three from where I was. But I cannot vouch for the strength of the signal for the other rooms.

 

 

 

You will also be surprised on the different kinds of discount cards that they accept. Although you have to present them immediately upon arrival.
 

 

They accept major credits cards and also Bancnet ATM. That's very convenient. They also offer car transfer to nearby places.
 

Their menu is actually like that of a decent restaurant and the taste is also at par with the good restaurants around the metro.
 

 

 

They even have a separate menu for Chinese food.

 

Upon check out, you have to call the operator and tell her that you're now ready to leave. After a few minutes, a roomboy will arrive with your bill. You will pay directly to the roomboy so it's less hassle once again. He actually has change with him so you don't have to worry about that.

 

He will ask if you're sure that you haven't left anything behind so he'll make a quick search. What he's really doing is inspecting the place for anything missing. It's just their polite way of doing it.

 

Overall, this place is great. The staff are polite and always mild mannered which will quickly make you feel at ease. The room itself is clean and spacious for the price. Privacy is a priority in this place. I will definitely be back here.

 

Tip: This is assuming that your vehicle is heavily tinted, not once will your companion be seen by anyone in the establishment in the garage rooms - that is if you take the proper precautions. Upon entering the garage, wait for the roomboy to leave before letting her out of the car. And upon leaving, make sure that she's already in the car before the roomboy arrives with your bill.

 

Keep wandering!