LTO: License plate backlog nearly 4 million

License plates started to pile up when the LTO awarded the ₱3.8-billion Car Plate Standardization Program to a Dutch-Filipino consortium – which was later declared anomalous by the Commission on Audit. | By Kristine De Guzman of CNN PH

Metro Manila — Vehicle owners on Wednesday expressed dismay as the release of license plates hit yet another setback.

This was after the Supreme Court issued a stop order on the distribution of 700,000 license plates that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) turned over to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in April.

LTO Chief Roberto Cabrera said 93 percent of the plates have been distributed to regional offices, while 7 percent were still at the head office.

"Technically, the Supreme Court will agree with me that for those that are already received by the consumers, that would be moot and academic," Cabrera said.

"What we could do is for those still in the storage areas of the different regional offices, what we could do is just hold on and not release those plates."

Cabrera admitted this was just part of a bigger problem, as the agency's backlog of license plates had reached almost 4 million.

The license plates started to pile up when the LTO awarded the ₱3.8-billion Car Plate Standardization Program to Dutch-Filipino consortium Knieriem BV Goes and Power Plates Development Concept Inc. (JKG-PPI) in 2013.

In 2015, the Commission on Audit (COA) ordered to stop the deal after finding it anomalous, saying that the contract was awarded even if there was no funding for the project. COA also found the procurement of the project irregular and illegal.

Transportation Sec. Jun Abaya, then LTO chief Alfonso Tan Jr., and Transportation Usec. Jose Lotilla were among those named liable in the report.

The LTO has already stopped paying its contractor due to a pending appeal to COA.
The case also prompted the contractor to halt the manufacture of license plates while the legality of the contract is still being debated on.

LTO officials said their hands remained tied until COA issues a resolution.

"What could happen is we could have prepared for the next step or to get a new supplier or get an emergency purchase or contract with an emergency contractor para lang mapunan 'yung pagkukulang natin," Cabrera said.

[Translation: "What could happen is we could have prepared for the next step or to get a new supplier or get an emergency purchase or contract with an emergency contractor to fill in our needs."]
Cabrera said the problem has gotten out of hand.

"For the meantime, what government could do is to realize that it's starting to… or it has become a national concern, a national emergency, a national problem that has to be resolved immediately," he said.