House probes delay in issuance of new vehicle plates

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives will investigate the delay in the issuance by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) of new standardized license plates for motor vehicles.

A resolution authored by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez prompted the inquiry.

In his resolution, Rodriguez said the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the LTO embarked on their motor vehicle license plates standardization program on July 1, 2013.

“Under the program, existing license plates of motor vehicles and motorcycles shall be replaced with a new standard design license plate with several advanced security features and a new alphanumeric design,” he said.

Rodriguez said the DOTC and LTO are replacing the license plates “because there are nine existing license plate designs and this is causing difficulty in identifying counterfeit license plates and adversely affecting law enforcement and national security.”

He said the program has suffered delays, since the bidding for the new plates has been marred by alleged irregularities.

Rodriguez noted that the DOTC and the LTO have awarded the multibillion-peso contract for the supply of the plates to J. Knieriem B.V. Goes (JKG) of the Netherlands and its local partner, Power Plates Development Concepts Inc., after a public bidding.

He said more than a year after the two agencies launched the project, only a few owners of new motor vehicles have been issued the new plates and not one old plate has been replaced.