The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has inaugurated its own plate-making plant that will be used by the government to manufacture vehicle license plates quickly.
LTO, together with its mother agency, Department of Transportation (DOTr), inaugurated on April 24 its plate-making plant at its central office in Quezon City. The plant has seven manual embossing machines that, at full production, can produce up to 22,000 plates per day. These machines are already calibrated and operational.
“The LTO had a lot on its plate when we took over. There was a huge backlog in license cards, while the court stopped the distribution of plates. Isa-isa nating sinolusyunan ‘yan. Ngayon, may lisensya na at five years pa ang validity. Ngayon, hindi lang basta na-distribute ang mga plaka. Gagawa pa tayo ng sariling plaka [We solved the issues one by one. Now we have the licenses and they’re valid for five years. Now we don’t just distribute them but also make our own.],” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a statement.
The plate-making machines, which were delivered last February 26, are part of the commitment of Trojan Computer Forms Manufacturing Corporation and JH. Tonnjes E.A.S.T. GmbH Joint Venture, who won the contract on the procurement of motor vehicle and motorcycle license plates to address the backlog that started in July 2016.
The contract stipulates only five manual plate-making machines, but the contractor added two more for the government’s temporary use at no additional cost, DOTr earlier said.
One automated embossing machine with a production capacity of 12,000 plates per day will also be delivered in July and will become operational in August.
