No more backlog on driver’s license card, new car plates by July – LTO

MANILA: The Land Transportation Office (LTO) said Tuesday that it is on track in addressing the backlog of driver's license cards and license plates for newly bought cars, saying the issues will be resolved by July. In a Palace press briefing, LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the agency now has a sufficient supply of driver's license cards to support the demand until the end of the year. 'Humigit kumulang mga 9.7 million cards, na-bid out na po yan ng DOTr (Department of Transportation) at LTO (The DOTr and LTO have already bidded out around 9.7 million cards). So, there's no reason why we will not have enough cards for the entire year,' Mendoza said. 'Dahil nga dito by July 1 of this year, dapat wala na pong backlog (Because of this, by July 1 of this year, there should be no more backlog),' he added. Mendoza said those with temporary paper licenses can now get their plastic cards. The LTO has a backlog of around 4 million license cards, based on the latest data. Mendoza said they ar e likewise addressing the backlog on license plates of new cars. Also by July 1, Mendoza expects those who bought vehicles in 2022 to 2024 will already have their license plates. Commendable The feat earned a commendation from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during a sectoral meeting with transportation agencies in Malacañang Tuesday morning, according to a Presidential Communications Office (PCO) news release. 'We have finally paid attention to the problem. So, I'm glad to see that the motor vehicles -- 'yung four-wheeled vehicles -- were okay,' Marcos was quoted by the PCO. As for motorcycle license plates, the LTO chief revealed that the backlog remained at 11.4 million from the previous administration, which they intend bring down to zero by June 2025. 'It seems you have the problem in hand. We can accelerate the target for the motorcycle plates. Best efforts. 'Wag lang tayo lalampas sa June 30 next year. Sana mas maaga pa (Let's not go beyond the deadline. Hopefully we can achieve it earlier),' M arcos said in a separate PCO release. Mendoza assured the President that they already came up with solutions to address the problem, including the order of around 13.4 million plates. 'What has been delivered already is 9.7 million. The balance to be delivered is 3.6 million. Our current inventory is 5.2 million,' Vigor told the President. Vigor said they have expanded the capacity of their machines, which is now composed of eight manual machines and two robotic ones that can produce 48,000 plates per day, higher than the previous daily production of around 28,000 plates. Source: Philippines News Agency