RFID a fund-raising program for elections - transport group

MANILA, Philippines - Militant transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide (Piston) has staged a protest action in front of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Quezon City to express opposition to the installation of tracking devices in vehicles.

Piston slammed the government's Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) program, which took effect on Monday even when petitions against it are pending before the Supreme Court.

RFID is a monitoring system that uses non-transferable electronic tags to identify vehicles, their registration details, make and color. The tags, which are scanner readable, are said to be helpful in identifying stolen or unregistered or “colorum” vehicles.

George San Mateo, Piston secretary-general, believes the RFID program is a mere fund-raising activity for the 2010 elections because its implementation was "hasty."

San Mateo added that the transport sector was not consulted on the program, which is expected to generate over P2 billion revenues for the LTO.

The same issues were raised by party list members in Congress, among them Representatives Liza Maza of Gabriela and Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna.

Casiño said the RFID was one of the "midnight contracts" signed by the government to churn out funds for the upcoming elections.

Not only does the program violate right to privacy, he said it is also expensive at P520 per sticker.

Casiño warned that the program's implementation without a decision from the Supreme Court was detrimental for vehicle owners. Should the high Court scrap the RFID, he said, those who paid for it may not be refunded. With a report from Maricar Bautista, ABS-CBN News.

as of 01/04/2010 11:12 PM