The Commission on Audit (COA) has blamed lapses in the performance of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for the long delay in the distribution of over 10 million motorcycle and car plates worth P2.15 billion.
This audit observation is contained in the 2020 annual audit report of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) that COA released recently.
COA lamented that the failure of LTO to distribute the vehicle license plates for over six years now has deprived “registrants of their right to receive the plates they have paid for”.
The audit agency added that the delay in distribution has also affected the “efficient apprehension of traffic violators.”
The audit study revealed that a total 8,120,837 motorcycles plying the country’s roads still do not have vehicle plates. On the other hand, 2,643,403 motor vehicles still carry old license plates.
The license plate project is under the Motor Vehicle License Plate Standardization Program that was formulated by the LTO in 2014.
The problem on delayed release of vehicle plates started in 2014 when budgetary constraints caused the temporary non-implementation of the supply contract between PPI-JKG Philippines Inc and the DOTr.
Out of the 15,204,456 pairs of motorcycle (MV) and motor vehicle (MC) plates ordered, the supplier was only able to deliver 3,925,114, thus resulting in non-delivery of 11,279,342 pairs.
But before the controversy was settled, the COA issued a Notice of Disallowances (ND) on the advance payment made by LTO due to legal issues and infractions of the law.
Three years later, the LTO pursued the procurement and awarded the contract for MV plates with RFID windshield stickers and MC plates with headlamp tags to the joint venture of Troan Computer Forms Manufacturing Corporation and J.H. Tonnjes E.A.S.T. GmbH & Co. KG (Trojan JV.) Meanwhile, the contract with PPI-JKG was amended following the lifting of the ND.
In 2019, another contract was signed by LTO with the Utsch JV for the procurement of 1,725,000 motorcycle blank plates and 1,725,000 motorcycle RFID stickers. However the contract was terminated a few months later bafter LTO accused Utsch JV of misrepresentation.
“From the time of the implementation of the MVLPSP, several delays in procurements were noted due to legal impediments, contract termination and changes in MC specifications in compliance with RA NO. 11235, among others,” COA recalled.
As a result the project completion was delayed.
“While the Audit Team acknowledge that the change in the MC license plates specifications brought by the passage of law is beyond the control of the LTO Management, the undelivered replacement ‘MV plates still indicates lapses in the performance by the LTO Management of one of its mandates, thus, depriving the registrants of their right to receive the plates they have paid for and affecting the efficient apprehension of the traffic violators,” audit examiners explained.