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The Land Transportation Office will extend expiring driver’s license validity for a year, according to its chief Vigor Mendoza II
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The decision comes amid a temporary restraining order against delivery of plastic cards
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The extension was suggested by a lawmaker during the Department of Transportation budget deliberations
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will extend the validity of expiring driver’s licenses for one year amid a temporary restraining order against delivery of the plastic cards.
During the Department of Transportation (DOTr) budget briefing on September 4, Agri Party-list Representative Wilbert Lee suggested the extension since the renewal of driver’s licenses was “in limbo” due to the TRO from a Quezon City court. LTO is an attached agency of DOTr.
He said expiring licenses should be “automatically” extended for a year, to which DOTr Assistant Secretary and LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II agreed.
“So I’d like to… confirm with the LTO that they will agree with the committee and some members to go ahead and allow one-year renewal of those driver’s licenses that cannot be renewed at this point because of the pending case,” Northern Samar 1st District Rep. Paul Daza later asked Mendoza.
“Yes, Mr. Chair, we confirm the one-year extension,” the LTO chief said.
On August 15, Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 215 issued a TRO on the petition of a plastic card company that lost the bid for supply of the plastic license cards.
According to the company, the court ruled the Centralized Bids and Awards Committee of the LTO committed “grave abuse of discretion” by disqualifying them from the bidding.
It alleged the LTO had accused them of “delays” in ongoing projects with other government agencies such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Social Security System.
The company also claimed they submitted the lowest bid at P176,853,600, lower than the LTO-set P240.12 million for the plastic cards.
Mendoza said during the budget hearing the court will issue a ruling on September 6, and if the TRO is lifted, it can resume with the issuance of driver’s licenses.
But if the court issues an injunction, a longer period for the suspension of the contract’s implementation might be set, Mendoza said.
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