More Delays with Licenses Explained
The Land Transportation Office has instituted an online process that is
supposed to facilitate the issuance of proper plastic card driver's
licenses to replace the paper printed ones.
Last year the LTO was forced to resort to paper-printed licenses because of
problems with the acquisition and delivery of plastic cards.
Earlier this year, the supply problem was resolved and the LTO established
a hotline where drivers can request to have plastic card licenses delivered
to them by courier.
During a hearing in Congress on the Department of Transportation's proposed
P180.9 billion-peso budget for 2025, it was revealed that delivery of the
promised plastic card licenses is delayed by problems with printing.
News reports quoted Valenzuela City 2nd District Rep. Eric Martinez as
saying: "Just for the record we have enough plastic cards, but the printing
was really the problem [...] sometime November we'll be able to normalize
things.
During the hearing, 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez
suggested the LTO can resort to issuing e-licenses.
Martinez said issuing electronic driver's license can help the DOTr and the
LTO save up to P250 million pesos a year.
It seems delays have become the norm in LTO processes, and drivers still
making do with paper-printed licenses can only hope the LTO will make good
on the promise to resolve the printing problems by November.