Driver’s license woes at LTO

IF YOU think that the shortage of license plates is the only problem plaguing the Land Transportation Office (LTO), think again.

Apparently, it’s not only the registration process for vehicles that has been hit by a supply chain problem, but also the registration process of drivers itself. More specifically, we’re talking about the driver’s license renewal process which—by many accounts—has been hitting snags, especially in the National Capital Region.

According to a source, most LTO branches have now run out of blank driver’s license ID cards. As such, people renewing their licenses find at the end of the registration process that all they get is a flimsy piece of paper that doubles as a provisional license (until the actual plastic ID card can be issued, for which they would have to return to the LTO branch at some future date).

We’re told that the problem has become so bad that it sometimes takes up to three months (if you’re lucky) to claim the actual driver’s license ID card.

Biz Buzz learned that, a few weeks ago, a relative of President Aquino dutifully went to an LTO branch on his birthday to have his license renewed. At the end of the process (which was relatively efficient… until the ID issuing part), he was told to return in three months for the ID.

But here’s the thing, this presidential relative was scheduled to head overseas in a few days. He told the LTO officials at the branch that he needed an actual Philippine driver’s license to be able to rent and drive a car abroad (a requirement of car rental companies in the United States and Europe). Sorry, the officials replied. They were all out of blank ID cards.

The understandably upset presidential relative supposedly notified no less than President Aquino about his experience, to which the President promptly responded by calling up—and some said “scolding”—Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.

According to our source, the root of the problem lies with the DOTC’s decision to cancel the contract for the supply of blank ID cards held by Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc. (Ampi)—an Iglesia ni Kristo-linked firm which has been involved in the business since the Marcos years.

“To be fair to Ampi, they were still supplying LTO with these ID cards even when they were being given a difficult time,” said our source. “But once the payments for the supplies stopped, what could they do?”

And how much does the government owe Ampi in back payments for the driver’s license IDs it had delivered? Something like P700 million, we hear. Wow.

To this day, it remains unclear when—or if—Ampi will get paid for the services it has rendered.

Going back to the issue of the presidential relative, the hierarchy of the DOTC was supposedly jolted into action by the presidential scolding that they published posthaste in the major newspapers an invitation to bid for the supply of these blank ID cards.

The response from prospective bidders was encouraging, with several local and foreign firms expressing interest immediately. The problem, of course, was that in the days preceding that announcement, the DOTC had yet to formulate or issue the terms of reference for the bidding (a rather basic requirement that they must have overlooked in their haste to assuage an upset President).

It remains to be seen if anything will come out of this entire process. In the meantime, people will have to be content with pieces of paper as provisional driver’s licenses. For how long? Who knows? -Daxim L. Lucas