LTO: 800,000 license plates available soon

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is targeting to produce 400,000 pairs of license plates before the end of the year to partly address the 13 million plate backlog, an official reported yesterday.

According to LTO chief Teofilo Guadiz, the agency aims to manufacture 800,000 license plates by yearend.

The LTO said the backlog in license plates for four-wheeled motor vehicles has reached 2.3 million pairs.

The agency had produced 337,607 pairs of license plates as of Oct. 5.

As for motorcycles, the backlog stood at 11.5 million license plates. Of the figure, 5.89 million are for replacement of old plates and 5.6 million are for new registration.

Guadiz said they would be able to clear the backlog in license plates by 90 percent by December 2023 if budget is available.

The LTO’s plate-making facility in Quezon City is implementing extended hours and shifting of personnel to keep up with the demand, he said.

The agency’s i-Robots are fully functional, according to Guadiz.

The Department of Budget and Management has approved a funding of P4.7 to address the license plate backlog, lower than the P6.8 billion requested by the LTO.

The LTO said it is looking at tapping a private contractor to manufacture additional license plates next year.