A German multinational technology provider cried foul over calls among congressmen for its blacklisting by the Philippine government, saying that it has fully complied with its contractual obligations for the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) and warning that ongoing legal disputes should be left to the courts to decide.
In a four-page official statement issued on Wednesday, August 5, Dermalog Identification Systems GmbH addressed allegations raised during recent House committee hearings regarding alleged delays, source code retention, and missing database components.
Dermalog said that on May 11, 2026, it filed a Petition for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and Injunction before a local court to stop the Land Transportation Office (LTO) from pursuing unilateral termination proceedings against the company.
“In light of the ongoing judicial process, Dermalog believes that public statements concerning sanctions or blacklisting should be viewed in the context of matters that have not yet been finally determined by the courts,” the company said, adding it would refrain from commenting on sub-judice matters while actively pursuing its legal rights.
Addressing allegations that it held hostage key components of the multi-billion-peso transport platform as well as the source code needed to operate the system, Dermalog maintained that the LTO has always held full possession and operational control over the LTMS database.
“Any suggestion that Dermalog has withheld the database is therefore incorrect,” the contractor said, challenging the transport agency to formally identify any specific database element it claims is missing.
On the issue of the system’s source code, Dermalog clarified that it never refused turnover, pointing out that the contract explicitly schedules the code transfer upon completion of the contractual term and fulfillment of stipulated conditions.
The tech firm also pointed out that the LTO formally accepted the LTMS in 2021 after finding it fully compliant with the original Terms of Reference.
It noted that several “deficiencies” publicly highlighted by lawmakers were actually uncontracted features later requested by the LTO, which Dermalog subsequently built and integrated.
It attributed implementation delays to factors beyond its control, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, LTO’s varying regional office readiness, legacy data migration bottlenecks, and repeated user acceptance testing beyond the original framework.
Dermalog further warned of potential cybersecurity risks after the LTO cut off the firm’s technical access to the LTMS production environment following the expiration of its maintenance agreement.
According to the contractor, the lack of access renders it unable to execute critical lifecycle maintenance, apply security patches, or perform routine vulnerability management.
“Cybersecurity is not a one-time achievement but an ongoing process. The protection of critical national digital infrastructure depends on continuous maintenance and timely security updates,” the company stated, stressing that it remains open to constructive dialogue.
The LTMS currently serves as the national digital backbone for land transportation, processing roughly 120,000 revenue transactions daily and housing the biometric data of over 32 million driver’s license holders and 24 million registered motor vehicles nationwide.