LTO to conduct inventory of car plates, license cards

MANILA, Philippines – Director Roberto Cabrera has asked Land Transportation Office (LTO) regional directors nationwide to make an inventory of license plates and driver’s license cards on the belief that some of them might be misplaced.

“I have requested the regions to submit their numbers, the number of those cards which were printed, distributed, spoiled and issued so that we would be able to have an updated number of the cards,” Cabrera told The STAR.

Driver’s license and car plates cannot be issued due to “port congestion” and “internal sabotage,” the LTO previously said.

It was later learned that the Commission on Audit has issued a notice of disallowance against the supplier, Dutch-Filipino consortium PPI-JKG Philippines Inc., for violating the procedures prescribed under Republic Act 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act.

It won the P3.8-billion contract to supply the LTO with car license plates in 2013.

The Manila Regional Trial Court has also ordered the LTO to stop the award and payment of the P336-million driver’s license card supply project to Allcard Plastics Philippines Inc. for alleged irregularities in the project.

Last Friday, the LTO asked the COA to lift the notice of disallowance, and they are now just waiting for the resolution of the motion for reconsideration, Cabrera said.

A notice of disallowance is issued after the COA finds the procurement of goods or a contract irregular or illegal.

The COA denied the appeal and motion for review of former LTO chief Alfonso Tan Jr.

Cabrera said the LTO is exhausting all legal remedies to resolve the court’s decision against the driver’s license project.

“I am auditing all documents with regard to the plates and license cards so it may be sabotage, it may be misplaced cards, it may be cards which were not disposed of or printed cards which were failed to be delivered,” he said, adding the agency is looking at all angles.

Cabrera said the LTO is coordinating with the COA to find out if the car plates were delivered before the notice of disallowance was issued, in which case they could be released.

“Now if they would say that that would be part of the notice of disallowance, we cannot actually get the plates and distribute them,” he said.