The Land Transportation Office has deputized traffic enforcers of Mandaluyong City to bolster the campaign against erring private and public utility drivers.

A memorandum of agreement signed by LTO chief Alberto Suansing and Mayor Benhur Abalos vested them authority to confiscate driver?s licenses within city limits.

Suansing praised Mandaluyong for being the first in Metro Manila to enter into an agreement on traffic law enforcement with his agency.

Abalos said a technical team would review road-use regulations and come up with a uniform measure for enforcement.

?We will be linked up with the LTO through computers so that we can report to them our accomplishments, including the tickets we issued to traffic violators every day,? he said.

Because of the single-ticketing controversy last year, Malaca?ang banned local traffic enforcers from confiscating driver?s licenses.

Luisito Espinosa, head of the Traffic Parking and Management Office, said their collection dropped from P30 million in 2007 to P23 million last year.

?This month, the collection reached almost P1 million,? he said, adding that the figure would pick up following deputation of local staff.

Abalos said the low collection was also due to apprehended violators turning in fake license cards.

?We have no way of knowing whether the driver?s license surrendered by erring drivers is fake or not. But with this agreement, we can immediately check with the LTO records through our computer linkup and drivers have no way of evading fines and sanctions.?

Suansing said that the LTO have also deputized the local traffic enforcers of the cities of Iloilo and Cebu.

Under the scheme, Abalos said the ideal setup would be that the citation tickets issued by the city?s traffic enforcers would be honored not only in Metro Manila but also in the provinces.

?We intend to make this program national in scope. This is a radical step but a step in the right direction,? he said.

Suansing said the LTO was undermanned in the enforcement department and the tie-up with Mandaluyong was a big boost to traffic law enforcement. Gigi Mu?oz David and Erika Vizcarra