LTO urges Allcard to withdraw injunction against driver's license cards

MANILA: Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II requested Allcard Incorporated to withdraw the case it filed as it may cause another delay in the production of driver's license cards.

"On behalf of our clients, I personally extend my appeal to the Allcard Incorporated not to pursue the case it filed anymore for the sake of the Filipino people, who are at the core of both our mission and vision," Mendoza said in a statement.

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court recently issued a writ of preliminary injunction (WPI) to suspend the delivery of plastic cards from the winning bidder, Banner Plasticard Incorporated.

"With the issuance of the WPI, we are again taking away that hope for normalcy from millions of our affected and would-be affected kababayans, especially with the uncertainty at this point as to when the case would be resolved with finality," Mendoza added.

Although the WPI was already issued, it will only be effective when Allcard, the LTO's previous plastic card supplier and one of the losing bidders, pays an injunction bond of P6 million.

According to Mendoza, the delivery of plastic cards to all LTO branches is still ongoing while the WPI is not yet in effect.

To date, Banner Plasticard has delivered 1.9 million cards, with 3.3 million remaining in its contract.

In August, Allcard first filed a temporary restraining order against the delivery of plastic cards to be used for driver's licenses after Banner Plasticard won the bid.

Mendoza also revealed that the LTO is now working to digitize the application for student permit and driver’s license, as well as the renewal of driver’s license.

The agency is hoping that corruption involving the agency will be eradicated once transactions are done online instead of face-to-face.

“As far as the LTO is concerned, we look to technology as a solution in order to address fixers. Ito ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit agresibo ang pagsusulong ko nito (This is one of the reasons why I am pushing it so aggressively) and with the help of our stakeholders and end-users, I am optimistic that we can do it in the soonest possible time,” Mendoza said.

The LTO will be integrating its new information technology system for driver’s license application and renewal with the old one to avoid technical issues that could hamper its services.

“We are putting everything together or trying to put connectivity in place to make it seamless. This is already being done for motor vehicle registration and hopefully, we can do that on driver’s license in the soonest possible time,” Mendoza stated.

Photos from Land Transportation Office

Also read:

LTO extends driver’s license validity for one year

First batch of driver's license cards handed over to LTO

LTO eyes launch of digital driver’s license soon