DOTr intends to resolve car plate backlog by September

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) intends to resolve the backlog in motor vehicle license plates by September this year, as a new license plate facility was inaugurated on Tuesday.

The plate-making facility will be able to produce up to 22,000 car plates per day, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said an interview with reporters.

The DOTr said the number of license plates that can be made by the new factory could ease the backlog by August or September.

“Siguro, aabot mga August o September their release on a volume of 500,000,” Tugade said.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) pegged the backlog in license plates of regular vehicles at 3.8 million from July 2016 to March 2018.

For motorcycles the backlog is 5.2 million.

On Tuesday, the LTO unveiled seven “calibrated” and “fully operational” manual embossing machines at the facility within the LTO Main Office compound in Quezon City.

“‘Yung rate of production niyan is 1,600 per day, each individual embossing machine. And pito ‘yon. Sa estimate namin at two shifts per day, so siguro ‘yung 22,400 kayang i-produce ‘yon,” LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante said.

“And for a 22-day working operation per month, siguro kaya naming i-produce ‘yung mga 300,000 plates per month,” he said.

The LTO expects another automated embossing machine to be installed and fully operational in July or August, which should further speed up the process.

“So that engagement in the production, “yung production capacity, ‘yung doubled, mas masosolutionan natin ‘yung backlog. And probably mga October kaya nating ‘yung pinangako ni Presidente na pag-labas ng sasakyan sa kasa, meron nang naka-kabit na plaka,” Galvante said.

The new license plates come with “enhanced security features” such as the region-specific first letter in the plate number and a new font.

The new plate-making plant is part of the P978.8-million contract aimed at addressing the car plate requirements was awarded to the joint venture between Trojan Computer Forms Manufacturing Corporation and J.H. Tonnjes E.A.S.T. GmbH & Co. KG. — VDS, GMA News