New licenses ready by 2018

CLOSE to 35,000 drivers in the region are set to receive their driver’s license card next year.

The Department of Transportation and Railways is set to release the long overdue license cards starting January next year.

DOTR Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante announced the good news during a recent visit to the Summer Capital giving assurance the new cards are safe and equipped with 32 security features that are hard to copy or even be faked.

"These new driver's license cards in the Cordillera will be distributed in Land Transportation Office districts from Baguio,

La Trinidad, Bangued, Luna, Lagawe and Bontoc, with almost 20,000 allotted for Baguio district and 5,000 each for every district," Galvante said.

The DOTR official explained for drivers licenses transacted from March 2017May 2017 the scheduled printing is set on January 2018, those transacted from July 2017 to August 2017, the scheduled printing will be on February 2018, while from September 2017 to November 2017 transaction, is set to be printed on March 2018.

Transactions not within the 5-year validity are not included in the printing of new cards.

Meanwhile, Galvante hopes the vehicle plates would soon be processed and distributed by next year.

"By the end of April 2018, LTO may start distributing the plates under the winning bidder for the procurement of the plates due to the pending decision of the Supreme Court and disallowances by the Commission on Audit", Galvante added.