Just recently, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) challenged the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to finally resolve the decade-long license plate backlog for motorcycles (MC). 

Also, part of the challenge of the new Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon to LTO is to deliver these plates to their respective owners within 72 hours of purchasing the new MC or motor vehicle (MV).

The LTO answers: we’re already doing it in 5 days.

In a recent interview by radio program Gising Pilipinas to LTO chief Atty. Vigor Mendoza II said that the agency is already fast-tracking the delivery of the license plates of newly-purchased MCs and MVs, and is currently doing it within 5 days.

“Right now, LTO does it in 5 days. In 5 days, it's issued. In 5 days, the license plate and OR/CR ‹‹are out,” said Mendoza.

Plate out of the showroom

But, in the near future, says Mendoza, motor vehicles, as well as motorcycles, will come out of the showroom floor complete with registration documents and their corresponding license plates.

“But what we're exploring now is that when the vehicle leaves the dealer, it already has a license plate,” added Mendoza.

He says that it is being explored to avoid finger-pointing on who’s to blame in the absence of a license plate on a brand-new vehicle or motorcycle.

“So that there is no need to point fingers like that [on who’s to blame], when the car [or motorcycle] leaves the dealer, it already has a license plate. Actually, the suggestion came from the dealers themselves.”

Mendoza also said that he will meet with the dealers next week to formulate this new policy and hopefully can do a pilot study with a few dealers soon afterward. Then, when everything is ironed out, it will be implemented nationwide.