Remember how I narrated the ordeal of how to replace stolen Philippine license plates?

Well, apparently, the Philippine government just looooooves to bite me in the butt.

I learned today - Saturday, when I can’t do anything about it - that my 2007 car registration, facilitated by the wonderful people at Toyota Balintawak, no sarcasm there, was temporarily halted because there was a car alert on my car.

Apparently, some cop saw my car, with its improvised license plates - which say “LTO Registered” - on the road. Standard procedure, which I welcome, is to pull me over to investigate. I then show the cop my papers and go merrily along my way. This cop opted not to pull me over, choosing instead to report my car with its improvised plates to the LTO.

Apparently, their records over there at the LTO don’t update over the computer system, such that the LETAS - or whatever department handles this car alert system - doesn’t know I already filed my lost plate alert and facilitated my duplicate license plate request.

The end result: I have to go to the LTO and show them the papers - that I myself got from the LTO! - so they can lift the car alert and allow Toyota Balintawak to facilitate my car registration.

Hay, another half-morning, guaranteed lost from my workday. This January alone, I will have lost two whole days of work because I have to facilitate all these government requirements that should ideally take only a day if everything were systematic.

Update: So I finally got the alert lifted.. after two and a half hours at the LTO. Grrrrr.

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