DOTr eyes delivery of 1,000,000 plastic driver’s license cards in next 60 days

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) targets to deliver up to one million plastic driver’s license cards within the next 60 days, amid the close to 700,000 backlog the agency reported earlier this month.

In a statement released Tuesday, the DOTr said it awarded Banner Plasticard Inc. the contract, with the Notice to Proceed issued for the 5.2 million driver’s license plastic cards set to address the pileup.

“We expect the backlogs of the license cards to be addressed quickly. Our aim is to normalize the supply of the cards, so we will ensure that Banner delivers these cards efficiently,” Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Kim Robert De Leon said.

Based on its corporate profile, Banner Plasticard serves the telecommunications, banking, and other financial services, retail, manufacturing, and service industries in the country.

Its product portfolio includes prepaid top-up cards, lottery tickets, scratch-and-win cards, contactless smart cards/RFID tags, and magnetic ticket cards, among others.

According to De Leon, the firm should be able to make its first delivery within 60 days from Monday, June 26, 2023, as part of the terms of reference.

“We are working with Banner to see if we can have license cards delivered the soonest,” he added.

Banner Plasticard vice president for production Arnel Babierra said the company is committing "to deliver 100,000 cards or more by the end of July, and we will complete our delivery of one million cards by August 26."

LTO officer-in-charge Hector Villacorta said that new applicants for driver’s licenses would be prioritized for the delivery of the initial 100,000 cards by the end of next month.

De Leon added that Banner Plasticard, under the terms of reference of its contract with the LTO, is mandated to deliver one million to 1.5 million cards every 60 days after the first delivery until the 5.2 million cards are completed.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista earlier this month estimated the backlog of driver’s licenses at 690,000, as he said there were only around 70,000 cards available across the country.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) — which issues the driver’s licenses — has since temporarily extended the validity of licenses that were set to expire from April 24 to October 31, 2023.

The agency in April said it would print out driver’s licenses on paper due to the shortage of plastic cards. In May, it announced a digital driver’s license, which will temporarily replace those printed on paper.

Atty. Jose Arturo Tugade, son of former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, resigned from his post as the LTO chief in May, citing a difference in methods with the DOTr. — with Ted Cordero/DVM/VBL, GMA Integrated News