The Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Vigor Mendoza on Thursday, Dec. 7, ordered the easing of the “no registration, no travel” policy for the rest of December.

“Our DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista immediately approved this when we consulted this matter. Panahon ngayon ng pagdiriwang at ayaw naman natin na ang inyong LTO ay magdudulot pa ng stress sa ating mga kababayan,” Mendoza said, noting that the order was temporarily waived in the spirit of Christmas.

He said the agency’s enforcers were instructed to “just warn” the drivers of delinquent motor vehicles, but underscored that the easing was limited to the holiday season.

“[G]usto ko lang linawin na walang forever ang pagluluwag natin sa mga delinquent motor vehicles. Pagkatapos ng New Year celebration, balik ulit tayo sa dating paghihigpit,” Mendoza added.

The strict implementation of the policy is set to resume in January next year.

The LTO chief urged owners of delinquent motor vehicles to portion their 13th-month pay for the registration fees.

Meanwhile, Mendoza earlier said the agency would bolster the implementation of the “no registration, no travel” policy through “aggressive operations” to speed up the registration process and keep up with the 24.7 million vehicles noted to have expired.

He also ordered LTO personnel to set up special lanes to aid this process.