Remember that time when the Land Transportation Office (LTO) couldn’t print out licenses on actual cards and had to hand out pieces of paper to license holders? If you’ve been driving long enough, then you probably do. Well, the grim news is that we might be back to getting paper licenses soon.
According to an article by Spot.ph, the LTO just confirmed that it’s running out of plastic cards. The agency currently has 147,000 plastic cards, and it expects this will only last until the end of April. Availability of ID cards, in the meantime, will depend on the LTO branch.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
‘Magpapahangin lang nang kaunti’ is NOT a valid excuse to ride without a helmet
Shanghai 2023: Honda’s new concept cars are looking pretty sharp
“Isa po sa na-discuss po ay ’yung temporary driver’s license na ipaiiral po ng LTO dahil meron pong mga nagre-renew ng lisensya, may mga nag-apply ng lisensya na hindi po namin mabigyan sa ngayon ng plastic cards,” said LTO chief Jay Art Tugade during a press briefing. “Ang ginagawa po namin ngayon sa LTO is we are continuously reallocating these cards para ma-address ’yung mga pangangailangan ng mga offices.”
What the agency plans to do is issue printouts of official receipts with their actual licenses printed on the back. Imagine a photocopy of your driver’s license—that’s what it’s going to look like. The temporary driver’s licenses will supposedly have QR codes so authorities can verify the legitimacy of said licenses.
That’s all we have for now, but this should give all you license holders there a heads up. If you’re applying for a new license or renewing your existing one soon, don’t be surprised if you walk out from an LTO office without an ID and just a small piece of paper in your hand.
