AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee (Rep. Lee's office)

AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee has thumbed down the Land Transportation Office's (LTO) plan to print out temporary driver's licenses on paper amid the shortage of plastic cards.

"The official receipt should be enough. Huwag na natin dagdagan ang gastos at mag-print pa ng temporary driver's license na naka-print sa papel lang (Let’s not add to our expenses by printing temporary driver's license that would only be made out of paper)," Lee said in a statement Tuesday, April 25.

The LTO said the plastic card shortage was the result of a department order they received in January, which stated that all procurements involving P50 million and above should be conducted by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) central office.

It also said that its inventory of plastic card licenses would completely run out by the last week of this month.

The LTO had announced that it will be extending the validity of driver's licenses that are expiring soon, after it faced backlash over the weekend over news of the shortage.

For his part, Lee underscored the need for government agencies not to waste resources.

"Hindi unli ang pera ng pamahalaan (Our government doesn't have unli-funds). Temporary licenses are a wasteful and unnecessary response to the problem. Masasayang lang ang milyun-milyong papel, ink, kuryente at effort sa pag-print ng mga ito (We will only be wasting millions worth of paper, ink, electricity, and effort in printing these)," the lawmaker said.

"This is a call not only for the LTO, but for all card-issuing agencies as well. Kung kaya naman nang patunayan ng official receipt, huwag na tayo gumawa ng temporary card (If an official receipt can suffice, then there's no need to produce a temporary card)," the neophyte solon said.