MANILA – The new chief of the Land Transportation Office is prioritizing the agency's huge license plate backlog, saying some license plates ordered by vehicle owners in 2017 have yet to be delivered.

The LTO earlier said its license plate backlog has reached 10 million, as registered motorcycles increase by 1.2 to 1.3 million per year.

• 10 million motorcycle plate backlog spills over to next admin

“Yun aming hong problema sa plaka ng mga motorsiklo, hanggang ngayon may mga plaka pa ho na as early as 2017 and 2018 ay ngayon palang po ginagawa. Kaya inutusan ko po ang aming plate-making plant na pag-igihin, paigtingin at doblehin ang produksyon ng mga plaka,” Assistant Secretary Teofilo Guadiz III told TeleRadyo.

(We have a problem with motorcycle license plates. Some plates ordered in 2017 and 2018 are only being produced now. I have asked our plant to try to double their production.)

The official said he visited the agency’s plate-making plant on his first day as its chief.

“Tiningnan namin kung papaanong pwede naming gawin para matugunan po ito. Unang-una ho naming ginagawa is, doblehin namin yung manpower on a 24-hour shift.”

“Number 2 yung hindi na po namin kakayanin, i-outsource po namin sa labas para ho matugunan itong problemang ‘to.”

(We checked how they could imprpove processes. First, we doubled the manpower on a 24-hour shift. Second, we will outsource production for those plates we can't produce anymore.)

Guadiz said he aims to cut down the agency’s license backlog by half within the first 6 months of his term.

He also said the agency is looking into simplifying the process of applying for a driver’s license and vehicle registration.

“Nakikita po natin palagi sa LTO, pagkahaba-haba po ng pila tuwing umaga. Kaya’t tuloy ang daming mga fixers,” he noted.

(Lines are long outside LTO offices every morning, that's why there are fixers.)

“Siguro pag na-simplify ho natin ang proseso, igsian po natin, kontihan po natin yung mga requirements, at i-allow na po natin ngayon ang online transaction sa renewal po ng driver’s license at sa renewal po ng rehistro ng sasakyan, ay malaki hong mababawas yung mga tao na pumupunta po sa LTO office,” he added.

(Maybe we can simplify the process, shorten it, lessen the requirements, and allow online transactions for driver's license and vehicle registration renewals. Maybe less people will line up at the LTO.)

Guadiz said he believes this will also curb corruption in the agency.

He added that the LTO is also mulling a drive-thru vehicle registration process.

“Ang proseso po nito is pagkatapos po ng inspection ng sasakyan, parang dito sa mga hamburger kwan natin stores natin na may drive-thru, pwede pong tatlong lanes po yan na papasok po yung sasakyan, dire-diretso po yan hanggang sa paglabas po niyan, natapos na po ang transaksyon,” he said.

(The process is that after vehicle inspection, there are 3 lanes where cars can pass through, then at the end of the line all their transactions are over--just like buying hamburger from a drive-thru.)

“Kaya lang medyo pag-aaralan ho natin ito dahil nung nag-pilot po ako nito sa Region 1, ang naging problema po pagkahaba-haba po ng traffic, kasi po sa dami ng pumipila na mga sasakyan.”

“Siguro po tingnan natin kung may mga district offices lang na pwedeng gawin ‘to, yung malalaki po yung kanilang mga espasyo para pwedeng mag-antay yung mga sasakyan, doon po natin unang-unang gagawin ‘to,” he explained.

(But we need to study first, because when I piloted this in Region 1, the lines were so long because so many vehicles were signing up. Maybe we can look at district offices that have large spaces where vehicles can wait. Maybe we will first test it there.)

--TeleRadyo, 2 August 2022