THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) said it might resort to extending the validity of official receipts (ORs) and certificates of registration (CRs), two key documents required to register for driver’s licenses.
The driver’s license supply contract is currently the subject of a temporary restraining order (TRO), preventing the issuance of plastic license cards.
In a statement on Tuesday, the LTO said it is considering the proposal to stamp ORs and CRs to extend their validity put forward by AGRI Party-list Representative Wilbert T. Lee.
“We’ll do everything we can in the event that this TRO on the distribution of license cards will not be lifted, Assistant Secretary for Land Transport Vigor D. Mendoza II said in a statement on Tuesday.
“All suggestions are being welcomed by the agency. As I’ve also said before, the LTO has been eyeing a shift to electronic driver’s licenses and of course, extending the validity of the existing licenses. This includes putting a stamp on drivers’ ORs and CRs,” he added.
The LTO is an arm of the Department of Transportation (DoTr), with Mr. Mendoza having been appointed chief of office in July.
“We will consult with the DoTr on what the best measure is that will not add to the burden on drivers and motorists,” he added.
Last month, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 215 issued the TRO at the request of AllCard, Inc., which claimed that it had been disqualified from the auction despite being the low bidder for the contract.
Named respondents to the lawsuit were the LTO, the bids and awards committee of the DoTr, and rival bidder Banner Plasticard, Inc., which was awarded the P219.24-million contract to supply materials for 5.2 million driver’s licenses.
Mr. Mendoza said the LTO is optimistic that the TRO will be lifted, adding that resolving the license card backlog is an agency priority. The 20-day TRO is set to lapse on Sept. 6.
Mr. Mendoza added that the LTO could resolve the license plate backlog by next year.
The LTO has ordered 15 million metal license plates to address the current backlog of 13.2 million plates for motorcycles and about 179,000 for other vehicles.
“Delivery has already started,” on the plate orders, Mr. Mendoza said, adding that it will take time to address the motorcycle plate backlog.
“We are catching up since the delivery of plates is improving to the tune of 250,000 pairs every month for motor vehicles and 1 million every month for motorcycles,” Mr. Mendoza said.
“Our production capacity is also increasing at 32,000 per day or around 700,000 per month,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
