MANILA, Philippines – The end of a years-long license plate backlog may finally be in sight as the Land Transportation Office (LTO) ramps up its plate production.

The LTO suffers from a long backlog of license plates, which currently stands at 179,000 for motor vehicles and an even worse 13.2 million for motorcycles. Motorists have been left waiting for years for their license plates to arrive.

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LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II, however, is confident that the agency’s plate-making plant can finally supply the missing plates. Mendoza said that the plant is “in full production so that the issue of having backlogs will never happen again.”

“‘Pag bumili ka ng kotse ngayon, in 10 days, nandiyan na ‘yung plaka mo. ‘Pag bumili ka ng motorsiklo ngayon, nandiyan na kaagad ‘yung plaka mo,” Mendoza said in a statement.

(If you buy a car now, in 10 days, your plate will be there. If you buy a motorcycle now, your plate will be there right away.)

With eight machines currently working, production at the plant reaches about 32,000 plates per day. Mendoza said that the LTO will announce more of its plans for the license plates “very soon.”

The LTO chief, who only assumed office in July 2023, told Congress that it might take the agency until 2024 to completely catch up with the backlog.

Aside from plates for new vehicles, the LTO is also still producing replacement plates. The agency currently has about 1.7 million replacement plates that have yet to be distributed. Motorists expecting replacement plates can already access the LTO’s website to see where they can claim their plate.

“If your replacement plate is ready, you just type your old plate number, and it will show where your new plate number is available and where you can get them,” Mendoza told Rappler in an interview. – Rappler.com

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