LTO activates 25 drivers’ license releasing sites

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has activated 18 releasing sites in Metro Manila and seven others across the country to normalize the issuance of drivers’ license cards, according to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Applicants within Metro Manila can now secure their drivers’ license cards at Kalookan Licensing Extension Office, La Loma District Office, Las Piñas License Extension Office, Makati Licensing Center, Mandaluyong Extension office, Manila East District Office, Manila East District Office, Manila Renewal Section, Manila South District Office, Marikina District Office, Muntinlupa Extension Office, Parañaque Extension Office, Pasay Licensing Center, Pasig District Office, Quezon City District Office, San Juan Licensing Center, Taguig Extension Office, and Valenzuela District Office.

Issuance of drivers’ license cards in the provinces is temporarily available only at Angeles District Office, Batangas Licensing Center, Biñan (Laguna) Licensing Center, Bulacan Licensing Center, Pampanga Licensing Center, Cavite Licensing Center, and Tacloban Licensing Center.

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Alfonso Tan said issuance of drivers’ license cards will be eventually made available at all LTO offices nationwide as “deployment is continuing.”

In the meantime, Tan said “we will print licenses during Saturdays and after office hours on weekdays, in order to erase the current backlog of around 900,000 licenses by early October.”

For his part, DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said getting a new supplier for the LTO drivers’ license cards heralds a breakthrough in the 30-year monopoly held by Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc. (AMPI).

To recall, the DOTC recently awarded the LTO License Cards Supply Project to Allcard Plastics, whose 336.868-million bid was 25.3 percent lower than the 450-million budget for the contract. AMPI’s supply contract expired in 1990 but the company was allowed to renew its contract annually until 2006 without undergoing public bidding. Since then, AMPI continues to supply LTO’s driver’s license cards on a quantum meruit agreement, or based on need, under a hold-over-capacity.

“Our effort to break a 30-year monopoly in driver’s license cards supply is finally about to bear fruit,” Abaya said.

Since the Commission on Audit (COA) issued last year a notice of disallowance against LTO’s quantum meruit arrangement with AMPI, the supply of drivers’ license cards has been dwindling. The LTO was forced to issue temporary licenses with a 150-day validity due to the agency’s discontinued payment to AMPI following COA’s notice.

“It is unfortunate that we had to resort to temporary licenses for several months, but good governance principles demanded an open, fair, and transparent bid. We will now work double time to normalize this service,” Abaya vowed.

Based on its supply contract, Allcard will deliver 5 million pieces of license cards to the LTO over a 12-month period. The volume is intended to cover demand for the next three years.

According to the LTO, drivers’ license card printing will now be colorcoded: orange cards will be issued to student drivers, yellow cards to conductors, and blue card to both professional and non-professional drivers.

Tan earlier claimed that the LTO issues approximately 1.5 million professional licenses, 1.5 million non-professional licenses and 1.5 million student permits annually.

The National Capital Region is the district that has the bulk of application and renewal of non-professional and professional drivers’ licenses nationwide, with each of its 27 licensing centers issuing an average of 300 licenses daily.