LTO to proceed with driver's license printing

THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) will secure delivery of 2.2 million plastic cards by May to expedite the production of driver’s licenses, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said.

“Forty-five days after the delivery of the 1 million, there will be around 2.2 million more plastic cards that will be delivered. So, this will be enough to address the backlog on driver’s licenses,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista. PHOTOS BY J. GERARD SEGUIA

Experts from the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) will inspect the materials.

“There are added security features that the LTO knows. And at the same time, we also want the DoST to check if these plastic cards would last up to 10 years because, as you all know, 10 years is the maximum validity of our driver’s license,” said Bautista.

A case filed by a losing bidder has exacerbated the delay in the production of driver’s licenses.

The Court of Appeals said in its ruling that the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, which issued the injunction order against the delivery of materials from Banner Plastic Inc., should not have entertained the case filed by the losing bidder in the first place because the administrative process was ignored.

“The decision of the Court of Appeals only vindicated the decision of our Bids and Awards Committee. And we in the DoTr are elated that the associate justices of the Court of Appeals agreed with the arguments we raised,” Bautista said.