RFID makes redundant car windshield stickers

GOODBYE, STICKERS: The stickers blocking the view of windshields of motor vehicles will be scraped off when all conveyances are finally equipped with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag by November.

The plan was disclosed yesterday by Assistant Secretary Arturo C. Lomibao, LTO chief, explaining that the RFID will make the old stickers redundant. Even the conduction stickers used on new cars being moved around by auto distributors can then be phased out, he added.

Removing the four-inch-by-two-inch windshield stickers, whose clutter reduces visibility, will save motor vehicle owners P50 a year, or P500 in 10 years. Compare this saving to the smaller P350 cost of the RFID tag that is good for 10 years.

The old stickers’ replacement by the RFID will deprive mulcting traffic officers of an excuse for harassing drivers of vehicles without current windshield and license plate stickers (which will also be phased out).

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FAKE ‘PISTON’: On the RFID issue, Lomibao expressed confidence that with all objections explained away, the Supreme Court will uphold the legality of the electronic tagging meant to weed out colorum and out-of-line passenger vehicles, discourage carnapping, and boost law enforcement.

The government has discovered that the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) – which questioned the RFID before the high court — has no legal personality. Its certificate of registration was revoked way back in 2003 by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On the other hand, a much bigger nationwide confederation of jeepney operators and drivers that has been allowed to intervene in the case came out endorsing the RFID and asking that its members be tagged with it.

The Commission on Human Rights said earlier that the use of the RFID did not violate privacy and human rights as alleged by some leftist groups and protesters who are ignorant of the RFID features. –Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star)