LTO: OFWs first in long line for license cards

Amid mounting complaints and inquiries, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) assured the public that plastic license cards and vehicle plates will be available by the second quarter of 2017.

Due to the current shortage of license cards, the agency will prioritize overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the distribution, LTO chief Edgar Galvante said in a statement.

Concerned OFWs need to submit supporting documents —their passport, employment contract, plane ticket and papers issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration or the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration— to be prioritized, he added.

The shortage of plastic cards started in 2013 when the Commission of Audit (COA) disallowed payments to the previous cards supplier, Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc., due to the lack of a proper contract.

The new supplier, Allcard Plastics Philippines Inc., won the bidding in 2015 to supply five million plastic license cards worth P336.8 million, but the contract expired this year.

Stopped by COA

The shortage of car plates, meanwhile, began after the COA disallowed the contract won by the joint venture of Power Plates Development Concepts and Dutch company J. Knieriem BV in 2013.

The Bureau of Customs seized 700,000 plates in April due to the venture’s nonpayment of duties and taxes, and had them turned over to the LTO. In August, the LTO reported a shortage of seven million car plates.

The Supreme Court, however, issued a temporary restraining order on the LTO and its mother agency, the Department of Transportation and Communications (now Department of Transportation), after Parañaque Rep. Gustavo Tambunting and Abakada Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz alleged that the LTO bid out the project without the necessary appropriation. – Dexter Cabalza