AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee on Wednesday urged the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to expedite the acquisition of plastic cards for driver’s licenses.
Lee made the statement in light of the shortage of drivers’ plastic license cards that resulted in the inconvenience of motorists whose licenses have expired or are expiring shortly.
The LTO this week confirmed the shortage, which they said was the result of a department order they received in January, stating that all procurements involving P50 million and above should be conducted by the Department of Transportation central office.
The agency also said that its inventory of plastic card licenses is forecast to completely run out by the last week of this month.
The LTO also announced that it will be extending the validity of licenses that are expiring soon, after it faced backlash over the weekend over news of the shortage.
Lee underscored the need for government agencies not to waste resources. “This is a call not only for the LTO, but for all card-issuing agencies as well. Kung kaya naman nang patunayan ng official receipt, huwag na tayo gumawa ng temporary card.”
The shortage in plastic license cards is expected to affect around 5.2 million motorists.
Lee also renewed his call to allocate a greater budget to the LTO so that it could address its license plate backlog.
During the deliberation for the 2023 budget, Lee urged Congress to grant the P6.8 billion the agency requested to produce license plates.