MANILA, Philippines – It’s not just driver’s license cards that are running out; soon, motor vehicles might not have any license plates either. The Land Transportation Office (LTO) cautioned that license plates could face a shortage as early as June.

“Based on the forecast of the LTO, license plates will run out for motorcycles by June, and by July, the license plates for motor vehicles will be depleted as well,” LTO chief Jose Arturo “Jay Art” Tugade said on ANC’s Headstart.

Although LTO still has supplies of license plates on hand, Tugade said that another shortage could happen if the procurement process faced delays. He explained that the procurement for the plates has been transferred to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in compliance with an order issued by the department – a situation similar to what caused the current lack of driver’s license cards.

“The DOTr has been fully informed of this situation. Since the budget of the license plates is P4.5 billion, it is the DOTr that is in charge of procuring these items,” Tugade said on Wednesday, April 26.

Under a DOTr department order dated February 28, contracts and transactions that exceed P50 million in budget are now handled by the DOTr Central Office rather than by the relevant agency. Those affected by the department order include DOTr regional offices in CAR and CARAGA, the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, the Philippine Railways Institute, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and the LTO.

“When we received the [department] order in January, almost every week, we sent a letter to the Department of Transportation – pleading – respectfully requesting for them to reconsider the special order because we did not want to come to this. We did not want to eventually come to a situation wherein we would run out of plastic cards, and a situation wherein we would run out of plates. Again, our requests went unheeded and were denied,” Tugade said.

Temporary license plates

Motorists may need to make their own temporary license plates should LTO’s stock run dry. 

“For motorcycles and for the four-wheeled vehicles, we are working on a contingency that we have now. One of the contingencies that we have in place is to allow the temporary issuances of motor vehicle plates and motorcycle plates by the owner. For example, ‘yung motorcycle owners, in the absence of a plate number, they can create a plate number, and on the plate number, it will say the motor vehicle file number of the motorcycle,” Tugade said.

This makeshift plate bearing the file number will be used in identifying the motor vehicle for the time being. Tugade said that the number displayed on the plates could be checked against the vehicle’s certificate of registration, which contains the file number, should the need arise. 

“We do need to be able to identify motor vehicles, and that is one way for us to identify motor vehicles. Similar to a brand new motor vehicle – a car – wherein the identification mark is the conduction sticker. So we will be applying the same concept to motorcycles in the event that we fully run out of motorcycle plates, which I hope we don’t,” the LTO chief explained.

Tugade also acknowledged that resorting to makeshift plates could benefit those with criminal intent and inconvenience those who might not keep their vehicle’s certificate of registration always on hand.

“This is one of the reasons why we should really push for the procurement of these license plates. As much as possible, we should exert all efforts to avoid a situation wherein we will run out of license plates. Again, I’d like to take this opportunity to appeal to the Department of Transportation to fast-track and conclude the procurement of license plates,” he said.

At the same time, the LTO was also struggling with a shortage in driver’s license. The agency claimed that it remained hamstrung by the same department order, with the procurement process for the much-needed plastic cards expected to drag on for months. 

“As to their commitment on having their procurement finished by July, we fully support and we pray that the DOTr does meet their commitment, the deadline that they gave, which is July, because we at the LTO really badly need the plastic cards in order for us to issue them to the applicants,” Tugade said.

Until then, the LTO is issuing paper licenses to those applying for or renewing their licenses. More than five million motorists may face delays on the release of their plastic driver’s license cards.

– Rappler.com