LTO chief vows to fix license plate backlog

MANILA, Philippines — Newly appointed Land Transportation Office chief Vigor Mendoza II yesterday vowed accountability among LTO officials and employees amid the backlog in license plates.

“The license plate backlog and the issue of funding are an unending cycle of problems (in the LTO). We will do a thorough review and then put accountability. Who is at fault here? Somebody should be made accountable. I am here to fix the problem in one year, the better,” Mendoza said in a radio interview.

Mendoza will formally assume the LTO post today.

“We want an explanation. We will identify the problem and the people involved so that we can prevent this from happening again,” he said.

The Commission on Audit (COA) had reported that at least 1.7 million license plates remain undelivered.

“We have a backlog of 1.8 million motor vehicle license plates. If the data is correct, the backlog should be addressed already. If there is a shortage, it should be minimal as far as motor vehicle license plates are concerned,” Mendoza said.

He said he would determine the exact figures once he assumes his post.

“We really need to look into why this happened. I want to know the exact number – how many is the backlog and how many are undelivered,” he said.

According to Mendoza, he will tap private stakeholders as “mystery customers” to determine the quality of services provided in the different LTO offices.

“These mystery customers will go to the LTO district and extension offices so that they will know the time being consumed in getting licenses. We want to reduce the timeline,” Mendoza said.

He said he is also eyeing the adoption of a system similar to obtaining a passport.

“I am considering adopting the process of getting a passport so that we can prevent long lines. We can schedule the application to minimize the waiting time. This is something we would like to review, when it comes to driver’s license application,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the initial delivery of plastic driver’s license cards was scheduled yesterday.

“We want to address the backlog immediately as the Department of Transportation has finished the bidding. The initial delivery is today (Monday), and starting Tuesday, we want to reduce it until we are able to wipe out the backlog,” Mendoza said.

He said he has a good working relationship with Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.

Mendoza’s predecessor, Jay Art Tugade, had cited differences with Bautista when he resigned as LTO chief.