Abusers of sirens and blinkers, a.k.a. “Wang-wang” are a continuing menace on public roads. To this end, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has introduced a dedicated hotline number for concerned motorists to report these violations.
LTO's Aksyon on the Spot hotline
As a short backgrounder on this, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. already issued a directive a month ago to crack down on the illegal usage of sirens and blinkers. This is known as Administrative Order No. (AO) 18, which explicitly prohibits all government officials and personnel from using these so-called “wang-wangs” and other similar devices.
Exempted from this order are official vehicles of the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency response vehicles. Private vehicles, of course, are prohibited from using sirens and blinkers.
Of note, the new hotline is called “Aksyon on the Spot” and is a quick follow-up to AO No. 18. According to LTO Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II, the said hotline has been in the works for a long time, but the agency decided to fast-track it as per the AO, as well as per the directive of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.
With regards to how to use the said hotline, it is as easy as sending a text message with the relevant details to 0929-292-0865 whenever one spots an illegal wang-wang user on the road. Users can likewise use the same hotline to report text scams and other online scammers who have been impersonating the LTO by sending fake traffic violations.
Hopefully, this new hotline will finally put a stop to these illegal "wang-wang" users
“Sa pamamagitan ng ating hotline, mabilis na matutugunan ng inyong LTO ang mga reklamo ng ating mga kababayan laban sa mga online scammers at mga pasaway na motorista,” said Mendoza.
[Through our hotline, the LTO will be able to quickly address the complaints of our citizens against online scammers and erring motorists.]
To further promote the new hotline, Mendoza added that the agency will be distributing “Aksyon on the Spot” stickers, especially to motorists who will be renewing the registrations of their vehicles.
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