LTO cancels donation of 4M plastic cards

Metro Manila, January 25 ------ The Land Transportation Office (LTO) said it has canceled a donation agreement of four million plastic cards for driver's licenses from a group of LTO-accredited medical clinics as guidelines have yet to be crafted about such deals. According to LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) commented that while there was no problem with the LTO receiving the donation, there should be safeguards and guidelines for the implementation. "It's only for that reason that we canceled the donation so that we can start from zero and incorporate the OSG opinion to put safeguards and guidelines to ensure transparency at saka sigurado sa pag-implementa sa baba [to make sure about its implementation]," Mendoza told reporters. 

The LTO signed a deed of donation with the Philippine Society of Medicine for Drivers in December 2023 for plastic cards worth ₱160 million. Mendoza said if the LTO would go on with the donation, a new contract should be drafted since it would need to incorporate the guidelines which the Department of Transportation (DOTr) would formulate. Mendoza said the plastic cards had not been delivered as both parties were still waiting for the guidelines. He said the private donor understood the LTO's move, saying they appreciate the agency's transparency. 

Mendoza said they only have 236,000 plastic cards left which could last until February. But he added that since they are meant for overseas Filipino workers and other priority sectors, drivers should expect paper licenses for now. The lifting of a court injunction against the delivery of plastic cards from a supplier would be the "best solution" to immediately address the backlogs, according to Mendoza. 

In October, a Quezon City Regional Trial Court granted the petition of AllCard Inc. to stop the delivery of plastic cards by winning bidder Banner Plasticard Inc. AllCard Inc. was disqualified from bidding for the supply deal despite having the lowest bid of ₱176.85 million, which was far cheaper than the winning bid of ₱240.1 million 

Source: cnnphilippines.com