After years of shortages of license plates and driver’s license ID cards that were already supposed to have been solved, Filipino motorists now face another looming shortage which may become reality as soon as June or July, the Land Transportation Office warned.
“Based on the forecast of LTI, license plates will run out for motorcycles by June, and by July, [those] for motor vehicles will be depleted as well,” LTO chief Jose Arturo Tugade told reporters recently.
He said the LTO was working on contingencies, including the authorization of temporary (DIY) plates provided by the vehicle owners themselves, to address the expected shortage.
Aside from making-your-own temporary license plate, Filipinos also face the very real possibility of carrying with them DIY driver’s licenses printed on paper, due to the dwindling supply of plastic cards for such licenses, also expected to completely run out soon.
Tugade, son of former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade who headed the agency in the previous administration, blamed the possible shortage of license plates on the procurement process in the DOTr, the same reason he cited in the backlog of driver’s license cards.
DOTr Special Order No. 2023-024 indicates that all procurement activities involving P50 million and above must be administered by the DOTr central office, a move aimed at avoiding controversial deals by the LTO, such as the P3.8 billion contract for the supply of 15 million license plates that was investigated by the senate in 2021 for alleged anomalies.
The LTO passed the buck to the DOTr, as Tugade appealed the latter to fast track and conclude the procurement of license plates, saying they had repeatedly pleated with the DOTr to reconsider the order, but such requests remained “unheeded and denied.”
Whatever the LTO and the DOTr needs to do, they have to do it urgently, as another shortage of license plates and driver’s license cards would be a serious stain on their ability to carry out what should be among their simplest tasks. After all, if they cannot even supply the proper license plates and driver’s licenses, which are merely pieces of stamped sheet metal and printed plastic cards, how we supposed to hope that government is capable of improving the quality of transportation, roads and drivers in this country?*
