LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza —LAND TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Just a few weeks after it assured the public that it could resolve the millions of driver’s license backlogs, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) said it may not be able to address the shortage after a Quezon City court issued a preliminary injunction stopping the delivery of plastic cards for driver’s licenses.
“With the issuance of the writ of preliminary injunction, we are again taking away that hope for normalcy from millions of our affected and would-be affected kababayans, especially with the uncertainty at this point as to when the case would be resolved with finality,” LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said in a statement on Tuesday.
“In this regard and on behalf of the millions of our clients, I personally extend my appeal to the Allcard Inc. not to pursue the case it filed anymore for the sake of the Filipino people who are at the core of both our mission and vision to have easier and convenient way of life through reliable technology platforms,” Mendoza appealed.
Delivery to stop
In a press conference on Monday, Mendoza said the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 215 issued the injunction stopping the delivery of plastic cards by the winning bidder Banner Plasticard Inc.
READ: LTO: Plastic driver’s license cards out now; schedule of renewal announced
The granted injunction was from a petition of Allcard Inc., which was disqualified from the bidding for the supply deal, despite having the lowest bid of P176.85 million, far from the winning bid of P240.1 million.
According to Mendoza, the injunction was not yet implemented as Allcard has yet to post a P6 million bond.
The same court in August also issued a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) following a petition from AllCard, halting the delivery of some 1.7 million plastic driver’s licenses.
Unlike the TRO which was only in effect for less than a month, the injunction would remain in effect until the case has been resolved, or if it is reversed through a motion for reconsideration, Mendoza said.
Once the injunction is in effect, Banner Plasticard Inc. would be prohibited from delivering plastic cards and the LTO would be forced to issue paper driver’s licenses again to applicants.
The LTO could also only release driver’s licenses that expired in May and June.
“If that injunction happens, we will not be able to cover the current usage, those who apply daily for November and December,” Mendoza explained.
In a press briefing on Oct. 5, Mendoza announced that the LTO had enough supply of plastic cards to start clearing backlogs for the month, lifting its earlier order to extend the renewal period for licenses that expired from April 1 to 30.1.9M cards so far
Currently, the LTO is able to issue an average of 500,000 to 600,000 licenses per month, making up a total of around 1.9 million cards so far with current contractor Banner Plasticard Inc.—just 3.3 million pieces shy of the 5.2 million cards it is under contract to deliver.
Mendoza said the LTO is planning to file a motion in the Court of Appeals through the Office of the Solicitor General.
To avoid a similar shortage in license cards next year, the LTO has already started the bidding for 4.6 million plastic cards that should be enough supply for nine months, including this year’s backlog that would be carried over.
To eliminate delays and other issues, he said the LTO is looking into a possible contract with the National Printing Office to supply the plastic cards.