WITH the Land Transportation Office (LTO) admitting on Thursday that there is a shortage of drivers license cards in the country, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is stepping in to seek approval of its initiative to purchase part of the total volume of the license cards needed by its attached agency.
“The DOTr is communicating with the Government Procurement Policy Board-Technical Support Office—under the Department of Budget and Management—to expedite the purchase of the license cards, after LTO’s failure to undertake early procurement activities in compliance with existing rules,” the transport department said.
The LTO submitted to the DOTr the terms of reference (TOR) for the license card procurement in late March. It held a pre-bid conference earlier this month.
However, the DOTr “decided to assess the TOR to determine a more efficient, effective and economic option at procuring the license cards.”
“DOTr hopes to procure enough license cards before supply runs out and while the TOR is being remedied so the bidding for supply of license cards can proceed,” the agency said.
In a press conference on Thursday, LTO Chief Jay Art Tugade admitted that there is a “shortage” of license cards in the country, saying that “as of today [Thursday], we have LTO offices that have run out of drivers license.”
As such, Tugade said the agency is allowing drivers to use their official receipts as “temporary driver’s license” in lieu of the physical cards.
He noted that the official receipts should have complete details, a unique QR code, and a “screenshot of the license card’s front and back portions.”
Tugade has also ordered the reallocation of the supply of plastic cards in LTO offices.
According to data from the LTO, about 147,522 plastic cards are left for printing, which “might only be enough until the end of this month.”
“We are doing immediate actions to address the shortage,” Tugade said.