The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Tuesday, January 16, said the donated plastic card for the printing of licenses were “first of its kind” which was why these would undergo verification process under the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

“Medyo naantala 'yan dahil sa hinintay natin ang opinion ng OSG para lang masigurado na walang balakid sa legal na pag-donate ng mga lisensya,” LTO chief Vigor Mendoza told DZRH in an interview.

“First of its kind kasi ito sa LTO, walang pinagpaparesan. Four milyon na cards ito worth around P160M to P170M, siguro gusto lang masigurado ng DOTr na wala tayong problema,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mendoza said the canceled bidding cards would save the government money.

“Kinansela 'yon kasi malaking tipid sa ating gobyerno na hindi na muna bumili. Meron tayong dual effort, depende baka magtagal ang opinyon,” the LTO chief said.

“Nag-submit na rin tayo sa DOTr ng posibleng agency-to-agency na bibili tayo ng card sa government printing offices,” he added.

Mendoza, however, underscored that even if the donations pushed through, the plastic cards for drivers’ licenses would not be enough to reach the agency’s 2024 threshold following backlogs.

“Kahit na matuloy ang donasyon, kulang pa rin sa 2024 requirement. Naabutan tayo ng pasko kaya nagkapatong-patong ang requirements. Para masiguro ang quality ng cards, kailangan within 2 weeks ang proseso. Last year dapat, naayos na 'yan tapos nagkaroon ng donation. We are issuing cards until end of January, mga nasa 200K cards pa 'yan,” he said.

LTO earlier maintained issuing physical plastic cards for those whose driver’s licenses have expired. The agency also noted its bid to no longer issue paper-printed licenses.