The Land Transportation Office (LTO) vowed on Tuesday, Dec. 6, to address numerous complaints about the delay in the issuance of driver's license amid reports of defective laser engraving in some of its offices nationwide.
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo “Jay Art” Tugade said they already initiated some measures that actually reduced the backlog of driver's licenses from almost 300,000 in August to only 92,000 last month.
"The delays in the issuance of driver’s licenses has been a big issue and concern for many motorists, which is why the agency worked double time to address this," said Tugade.
One of the causes of backlogs, according to him, is the defective laser engraving machines in some of the LTO district and extension offices.
The LTO has released in its official Facebook page the list of offices with non-functioning or defective laser engravers nationwide.
“This significant reduction in backlogs is a testament to the LTO’s firm resolve to settle this problem using digital technology and, in the process, remove corruption and red tape. We are happy to report this development, but we will not stop because the ultimate objective is to reach zero backlog level,” said Tugade.
"We have been working relentlessly to address the driver’s license backlog issue and to reduce it even further. The objective, he said, was to avoid more inconveniences for applicants who have already endured a long waiting period just to get their hands on their driver’s license," he added.
But for now, Tugade said the LTO can only do repairs of all defective laser engravers due to lack of funds to procure new ones.
"I commit to deliver those licenses but I also need funds for the repair of our engravers," he said.