LTO rushing license plates production to clear backlog – chief

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MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) said Wednesday it is fast-tracking the production of license plates to address backlogs for both motor vehicles and motorcycles.

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said in a statement that 15.9 million metal plates have been procured and about 1 million of them were delivered for embossing.

The metal plates were ordered with the assistance of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), he noted.

During the Senate hearing on the 2024 budget of the DOTr and its attached agencies amounting to P214.3 billion, Mendoza reiterated that LTO would take over two years to complete its 13 million backlog on license plates.

READ: System in place to address backlog in vehicle plates – LTO chief

The uncompleted work mainly consists of new license plates for motorcycles and replacements for the old, green ones.

“It will take over two years to finish the entire 13 million backlog, but while we are doing that, we [will] be able to cater [to] the current usage of plates by October this year. The goal is to release the license plate for all the newly bought motorcycles so that they would not be included in the backlog,” Mendoza said during the hearing. LTO is an attached agency of DOTr.

READ: LTO: No fee for distribution of license plates

He also disclosed that the embossing process for new plates will start in October.

Mendoza said LTO will use two robotic and nine semi-manual embossing machines that can produce around 42,000 license plates per day.

Mendoza likewise said LTO will distribute unclaimed license plates before the year ends.

READ: LTO fails to deliver 1.7 million license plates paid by motorists in 2015 – COA

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