In the past months, social media platforms were flooded with memes and jokes of coupon bond-printed driver’s license that stemmed from the shortage of plastic card starting in the second quarter of 2023. It all began with the failure to procure millions of plastic cards on time in late 2022 when the depletion of supply was monitored, and ended with the resignation of then Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief JayArt Tugade over differences in policy mindset with his bosses at the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

A series of unfortunate incidents then ensued when the legal battle for the delivery of 5.2 million plastic cards was stopped by a Quezon City court. The delivery of four million plastic cards from a donor was also put on-hold as this had to be reviewed by the Office of the Solicitor General.

The plastic cards shortage also added to the existing woes of the LTO over the millions of backlogs in license plates, mostly for motorcycles, and the gargantuan task of renewing the registration of around 24.7 million delinquent motor vehicles—the figure represents around 65 percent of all motor vehicles across the country.

The current LTO leadership has initiated measures to fill up the plastic card shortage but has been successful in narrowing the gap on license plates backlog with the current production of one million license plates per month. The agency is also conducting an aggressive “No Registration, No Travel” policy to compel owners of motor vehicles with expired registration to renew.