LTO reaffirms commitment to solving driver’s license backlogs

The issue of backlogs is one of the things that the Land Transportation Office (LTO) wants to address. Aside from the backlogs on license plates, the agency is also facing a pileup when it comes to the issuance of driver’s licenses.

The LTO is determined to further reduce the driver's license backlog

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo Tugade is aware of the issue, and he has reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to addressing the driver’s license backlogs. Tugade shared that the LTO has already reduced the number of backlogs on the issuance of driver’s licenses.

It has been reduced from almost 300,000 in August 2022 to around 92,000 as of November 2022. Although that’s a good sign, Tugade doesn’t want the LTO to slow down as he is eyeing to further reduce the backlog until it reaches “zero level.”

“This significant reduction in backlogs is a testament to the LTO’s firm resolve to settle this problem using digital technology and, in the process, remove corruption and red tape. We are happy to report this development, but we will not stop because the ultimate objective is to reach zero backlog level,” Tugade said.

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo Tugade

The LTO explained that the defective laser engraving machines in several of its district and extension offices are one of the causes of backlogs. With the faulty machine, the agency can’t produce the physical driver’s license card.

The agency announced that 36 field offices have defective laser engraving machines. It is also advising the public to not go to the LTO offices that have defective machines until the engravers have been repaired. Here are the LTO offices that have defective laser engraving machines as of November 30, 2022. 

LTO offices with defective laser engraving machines

LTO Chief Tugade added that the agency can commit to delivering the driver’s licenses but noted that it also needs a budget to repair or procure new laser engraving machines. For now, Tugade reassured the public that the LTO will continue to work relentlessly to address the driver’s license backlog issue.

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