An organization advocating for efficient land transportation services in the country has donated around four million pieces of plastic cards in a bid to help the national government to address the backlog on driver’s license.

The donation was formalized with the signing of a deed of donation between Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Vigor Mendoza II and Philippine Society of Medicine for Drivers (PSMED) President Albert Alegre on Monday, Dec. 18, at the agency’s Central Office in Quezon City.

Based on the deed of donation, the first batch of the plastic cards, composed of 300,000 pieces, is expected to be delivered in the first week of January, or after the LTO issues an authority to the supplier of the donor to use the design of the driver’s license.

The document also stipulated that 300,000 pieces will be delivered every 15 days after the first delivery is completed and 100,000 pieces for the last delivery until the four million pieces of plastic cards are completed.

With the commitment of four million plastic cards, Mendoza said new applications and renewal of driver’s license will now be issued with plastic cards, the priority is still the overseas Filipino workers. 

“On behalf of the men and women of the LTO and the Filipino people, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the Philippine Society of Medicine for Drivers headed by Dr. Albert Alegre for this generous donation which we consider as an early Christmas gift to millions of our clients,” said Mendoza.

“This donation is timely as it came at a time when we in the LTO are facing a serious challenge of addressing the backlog and daily usage of plastic-printed driver’s license amid the uncertainty on the outcome of the legal battle on the plastic cards that the LTO procured early this year,” he added.

No strings attached 

Mendoza also clarified that there are no strings attached to the donation, saying the PSMED’s decision is purely out of the love of the country and shared advocacy for efficient land transportation and road safety.

For his part, Dr. Alegre said the donation was approved by members and officials of the PSMED after learning of the legal obstacle in addressing the backlog on driver’s license.

“Our organization, the Philippine Society of Medicine for Drivers has been an advocate of efficient land transportation services that include the issuance of driver’s license to qualified drivers and applicants,” said Alegre.

“We cannot just close our eyes on the issue of plastic card shortage when we know that we are capable of alleviating the concerns of millions of motorists of having expired licenses and paper-printed driver’s licenses.”

“We always maintain that a plastic-printed driver’s license is an integral part of the authority of giving a privilege to the people to drive a motor vehicle and we share the commitment of our LTO Chief, Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II in addressing this problem in the soonest possible time. That’s why we immediately contacted him when we reached a consensus in our organization for this donation,” Alegre added. 

Aside from the plastic cards, Dr. Alegre said that they will also donate four sets of digital microscopes, UV lens and decoding lens as part of the measure to ensure the security of the production of the driver’s license.

Citing the Deed of Donation, Mendoza explained that the four million plastic cards that will be donated by the PSMED is within the parameters and technical specifications of the current LTO driver’s license cards. 

He added that if there are cards from the four million donation that were rejected by the security system, all of them would be deemed undelivered and would be replaced at no cost to the DOTr and the LTO.

The PSMED, according to Dr. Alegre, shall shoulder all taxes and other expenses in relation to the donation of the four million plastic cards. 

Sufficient supply 

Mendoza earlier said that the four million plastic cards donated by the PSMED is enough to address the backlog and the daily usage of plastic-printed driver’s licenses through application and renewal.

Early this year, the LTO, through the Department of Transportation, procured 5.2 million plastic cards to address the millions of backlog in driver’s license. A losing bidder, however, filed a case to stop the awarding of the delivery of the plastic cards.

Of the 5.2 million plastic cards bought, only around 1.9 million were delivered before a Quezon City court issued an injunction that stopped the delivery of the remaining 3.3 million. 

If the Court of Appeals would rule in favor of the OSG petition, Mendoza said this would mean additional 3.3 million plastic cards on top of the donated four million plastic cards.

“This is really good news for all of us. And we in the LTO are very happy that everything is coming together na. We are back on the right track,” he added.