The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is taking significant steps to address the issue of unclaimed license plates. As per the instructions of Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, LTO Chief Asst. Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza has personally overseen the inspection of the storage area containing approximately 670,000 unclaimed license plates.
During the inspection on Tuesday, Mendoza reaffirmed LTO’s commitment to establish a highly efficient distribution system for these license plates. The goal is to ensure that when the plates arrive, the distribution process is streamlined and hassle-free for the public.
“Gusto natin inihahanda na natin ang kapasidad ng ating mga opisina dito, gaya sa Cebu, para pagdating ng mga plaka, dating ng mga license plates eh maganda ‘yung distribution systems natin dito,” Mendoza stated during an interview with reporters.
Moreover, Mendoza emphasized that an effective distribution system would significantly reduce the public’s reliance on fixers for license plate and card processing.
“Ito isang ehemplo lang, itong lugar na ‘to, in the development of one-stop shop facilities, para ang tao di na kung saan-saan, mapapadali ‘yung ating proseso, hindi na sila kailangang humingi ng tulong sa mga fixers. Sila mismo kaya na nilang gawin,” Mendoza said in a statement released on Wednesday.
To expedite the release of the license plates to their rightful owners, the LTO plans to collaborate with other groups and stakeholders. Their collective effort will help accelerate the distribution process.
The agency has set a target to complete the distribution of unclaimed license plates by September of this year. In the meantime, Mendoza’s team is also investigating the reasons behind the accumulation of unclaimed plates, some dating back to 2018. Through careful auditing and corrective measures, they aim to prevent such issues from recurring in the future.
“We are studying everything, we are auditing all the documents pertaining to it, kasi we have to correct it para di na maulit,” Mendoza concluded.
