Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino on Tuesday, September 3, lauded the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for pushing back the grace period for the use of temporary and provisional license plates for motorcycles and motor vehicles.
The LTO has set the new deadline to December 31, 2024.
Nevertheless, Tolentino said the agency should use the extension period to ramp up its production of official license plates for the benefit of millions of riders and motorists.
“We thank the LTO for extending the deadline. The prohibition will resume by December 31, but we hope that by that time, the LTO will have already studied the consequences of its policy and the steps needed to resolve its own backlog,” said Tolentino, in an interview on Radio DZXL.
“They promised to make significant progress. We’ll see what happens on December 31, whether the deadline will be extended further, or if plates will finally be issued,” he said.
Tolentino explained December 31 is also an imaginary target “because it’s right before the New Year.”
While the LTO claims that it has closed the license supply shortage for motor vehicles, the backlog remains significant in the case of motorcycle riders, the lawmaker pointed out.
In Cebu, for instance, the LTO came up with a “solution” requiring motorcycle owners to secure a certification to prove that they have not been issued an official license plate yet.
“They are made to line up and pay P40 for this document. If they get caught, the fine is P5,000,” he lamented.
“Do not penalize motorcycle riders for a problem they did not create. They are unduly being burdened instead of being allowed to ply the road and make a living,” Tolentinoasserted.
He also cited the need for the timely issuance of license plates, alongside the Official Receipt/Certificate of Registration (OR/CR) of vehicles.
“The issuance of plates should coincide with the release of the OR/CR. It takes longer to produce a motorcycle or car than it does to make a plate. Assembling a vehicle takes more time than producing a plate,” he stressed.
Likewise, Tolentino reiterated his appeal to the LTO to stop issuing similar regulations on riders in consideration of the measure he sponsored – Senate Bill No. 2555 – which seeks to remove the ‘double plate’ requirement for motorcycles under the ‘Doble Plaka’ Law or Republic Act 11235.
Tolentino said several motorcycle riders and delivery riders groups have expressed their full support for SBN 2555 and look forward to its passage.