EDITORIAL - State of emergency
What will it take to allow on-time release of plastic driver’s license cards in this country? Since the previous administration, there has been a backlog in the release of the plastic driver’s license cards, with motorists instead issued temporary paper licenses.
The Marcos administration inherited the problem. As of last December, the Land Transportation Office reportedly had a backlog of around 2.3 million plastic driver’s license cards. At the start of 2023, the Department of Transportation had procured 5.2 million plastic cards. The Land Transportation Office, which is under the DOTr, had delivered only 1.9 million of the cards before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 215 issued a temporary restraining order on Aug. 15, stopping the delivery. With the TRO, the LTO returned to issuing temporary paper driver’s licenses.
The TRO was in response to a petition filed by a losing bidder, AllCard Inc., which complained that it lost the supply deal despite submitting the lowest bid. Philippine courts are notorious for their interpretation of the term “temporary,” and the Quezon City court’s TRO has been no different. With the plastic driver’s license backlog growing, the Office of the Solicitor General has sought intervention from the Court of Appeals to lift the RTC order and allow the issuance of the 3.3 million plastic cards affected by the TRO.
In mid-December last year, an association of private medical clinics offered to donate four million plastic cards to the LTO, “with no strings attached.” The LTO, however, is still waiting for the green light from the OSG to avoid further legal complications before using the donations from the Philippine Society of Medicine for Drivers.
When public interest is at stake, shouldn’t the judiciary move faster? Perhaps the courts need a clear definition of what “temporary” means in the Philippine legal system. The Supreme Court is supposed to be moving to speed up the administration of justice. Litigation involving the plastic license cards should serve as an example of the touted reforms.
Between judicial intervention and bureaucratic red tape, paralysis is often the result, with the public on the losing end. The
