The Land Transport Office (LTO) will not change its Information Technology (IT) system provider, LTO-NCR director Atty. Clarence Guinto asserted on Thursday, Aug. 11.

“Hindi tatanggalin 'yung Dermalog [bilang IT provider ng LTO] kasi that's a government-owned IT project,” he said in an interview during DZRH’s Dos Por Dos.

Dermalog Corp. is a German company that tracks biometrics and data security. It also operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.

LTO Assistant Secretary Teofilo “Jojo” Guadiz III earlier made a pronouncement that the transportation office will return to Stradcom Corp., its old IT system provider.

Guadiz claimed that the old system is better than the current provider which has glitches causing long lines of customers in need of service.

But Guinto asserted that parallel operations will remain, which means that Stradcom and Dermalog will both operate.

He explained that although Dermalog replaced Stradcom Corporation in 2018, the transfer of the motorists' database from Strandcom to Dermalog is not yet completed.

“Ang ikinukunsidera namin ay public interest. Kasi if we will eventually pull-out the existing service provider, baka matengga tayo sa continuity of transaction. ‘Yun ang greater interest natin dito ay public interest pa rin,” the director said.

On Aug. 9, House Deputy Minority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera sought a congressional inquiry into the legality of LTO's decision to revert to its previous IT provider.