LTO eyes finishing 90% license plate backlog in 2023

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is eyeing to reach 90-percent production of its vehicle license plates backlog by 2023.

In a statement, LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Teofilo Guadiz III was quoted as saying that the agency will utilize its own facility to produce some of the total deficit before the end of 2022.

He also said that for those not completed by this year, the LTO plans to hire a private firm to reach the aforementioned target by December next year.

The LTO cited that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved P4.7 billion out of the P6.83-billion requested funding to deal with the license plate production backlogs. However, Guadiz is still eyeing for the full amount to be approved.

Currently, the LTO needs to finish a total of 2.3 million pairs of replacement plates. For motorcycle plates, the agency needs to produce 11.5 million license plates.

“Right now, we have already extended the operating hours of the LTO license plate manufacturing plant. It now operates even on Saturdays so that it can produce more replacement plates and reduce the backlog,” Guadiz said.

As of October 3, the LTO plate-making plant has manufactured more than 300,000 pairs of replacement plates since last May.

Further, Guadiz clarified that there is no license plate backlog for newly-registered vehicles.

The LTO chief also mentioned that the charges for the replacement license plates are deposited to the National Treasury on a daily basis. If funding would be needed, the budget is requested from the Congress or the DBM.

For motorcycles, Guadiz shared that the agency is prioritizing the production of rear license plates and decals at the front.

“Inuna na po namin muna ‘yung back plates. For the front, the thrust of the previous administration, which we are adapting now is gagamit kami ng decal. We are anticipating the passage of the new law, so sa ngayon po, we will just address first the back plates, hindi muna yung sa harapan (We are doing the back plates first. For the front, the thrust of the previous administration, which we are adapting now is to use a decal. We are anticipating the passage of the new law, so for now, we will just address the back plates first, not the front ones),” he explained.

Photos from Land Transportation Office-National Capital Region West Office and Department of Transportation-Philippines Facebook pages

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