The Land Transporation Office (LTO) claims it can now produce 1 million license plates monthly. This means that the agency may be able to address the license plate backlog for motor vehicles before the end of November 2023.
LTO Chief Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II
According to the LTO, the backlog for motor vehicle license plates has been reduced to 80,000. LTO Chief Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II added that the estimated demand for motor vehicle plates (cars, SUVs, MPVs, vans, trucks, etc) stands at 2,000 vehicles per day.
This totals to 4,000 plates per day since motor vehicles need front and back plates. Medoza likewise noted that a chunk of the backlog is linked to those needing to switch from the old green plates to the new white-colored plates. The agency is likewise targeting to provide plates for new vehicles within seven to 10 days upon submission of necessary documents.
The LTO also reported that it has already ordered around 15 million plates via the Department of Transportation (DOTr). At the moment, eight machines are being put to work in producing plates to quash the backlog. Several of these machines, the LTO says, are currently dedicated to cater to motor vehicles.
Mendoza and other LTO officials inspecting a license plate printing facility
Regarding the motorcycle backlog, however, it is much larger as it is pegged at around 13 million plates. Nevertheless, the agency vowed to focus on this as well. Mendoza assures that the LTO can address the entire motorcycle plate backlog by early 2025. The LTO chief justifies this target date as the backlog for motorcycle plates is massive, but otherwise, the agency shared that it is confident in its capability to wipe out the backlog for motorcycles once and for all.
Besides the license plate backlog, the LTO is also working on resolving the driver’s license plastic card supply issue. As per a previous report from the first week of October 2023, the agency has since secured a sufficient supply of plastic cards, and it already released renewal schedules for driver’s licenses that have expired from April to September 2023.
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