Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino on Tuesday told the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to use the extension period to ramp up its production of official license plates for millions of riders and motorists.
He also thanked the LTO for pushing back to December 31 the grace period for the use of temporary and provisional license plates for motorcycles and motor vehicles, without the threat of apprehension and penalties.
“The prohibition will resume by December 31, but we hope that by that time, the LTO has already studied the consequences of its policy and the steps needed to resolve its own backlog,” Tolentino said. “They promised to make significant progress. We’ll see what happens on December 31, whether the deadline will be extended further, or if plates will finally be issued.”
He added that December 31 seems to be an “imaginary target.”
While the LTO claims that it has closed the license supply shortage for motor vehicles, the senator said that the backlog remains significant in the case of motorcycle riders.
“For Cebu, the LTO came up with a solution that required motorcycle owners to secure a certification to prove that they have not been issued an official license plate yet. They are made to line up and pay P40 for this document. If they get caught, the fine is P5,000,” he said.
“Do not penalize motorcycle riders for a problem they did not create. They are unduly being burdened instead of being allowed to ply the road and make a living,” he asserted.
