MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office said Wednesday it plans to complete up to 90% of its motor vehicle license plate backlog by the end of 2023.
The agency said it will use its own plant to produce a percentage of the required license plates.
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“We have already extended the operating hours of the LTO license plate manufacturing plant. It now operates even on Saturdays so that it can produce more replacement plans and reduce the backlog,” LTO chief Teofilo Guadiz III said in a statement.
The backlog for motor vehicle replacement plates, which are the license plates being transitioned into black, stands at 2.3 million, while motorcycle license plate backlog is at 11.5 million. There is no reported backlog in terms of creating license plates for newly registered vehicles.
In addressing the license plantes for motorcycles, the LTO will be prioritizing the back plates.
“For the front, the thrust of the previous administration, which we are adapting now is gagamit kami ng decal,” Guadiz said.
“We are anticipating the passage of the new law, so for now, we will just address first the back plates, and we’ll have to postpone addressing the front plates.”
As of Monday, the LTO Plate-Making facility has already produced 300,000 pairs of replacement plates.
The issue of the backlog was already raised during the House of Representatives deliberations, with lawmakers raising that it would “affect the efficient apprehension of traffic violators.”
But despite its financing requirements, the Department of Budget and Management only approved P4.7 billion of the LTO's proposed P6.83 billion fund to address the issue.