Driver’s license cards finally out by July–DOTC

The shortage of driver’s license cards issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will be finally addressed next month.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) announced on Friday that a supplier, Allcard Plastics, had won the P336.8-million contract to supply five million license cards to LTO offices nationwide.

The cards will be delivered monthly in equal tranches for one year upon the issuance of a notice to proceed, the DOTC said in a statement.

The contract with Allcard Plastics saved the government around P113 million as the company’s bidding price was 25.3-percent lower than the original approved budget of P450 million the agency added.

The government will thus spend only P67.37 per card, well below the price cap of P90.09 each.

Allcard Plastics’ asking price was also lower than that of two other bidders.

The LTO’s previous supplier, Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc. (AMPI) submitted a P373.8-million bid, while the joint venture of DVK Philippines Enterprises and Cardz Middle East Trading LLC offered a bid of P428.8 million.

In a radio interview, LTO spokesperson Jason Salvador said the new cards should be delivered by end of July.

Earlier, Salvador attributed the license card shortage to AMPI being affected by the port congestion in Manila last year.

The DOTC also explained that when the agency and the LTO tried to bid out the project in 2010, they were stopped by court injunctions obtained by AMPI in 2010 and 2012. The Court of Appeals eventually lifted both orders.

While the bidding process for a new supplier was underway, the LTO had been issuing temporary driver’s licenses printed on paper. Jaymee T. Gamil