LTO to AllCard: Please drop complaint so card delivery can proceed

In August of this year, a Quezon City Regional Trial Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) versus the awarding of the contract on the driver's license plastic card production for the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Banner Plastic Card, Inc. bagged the multi-million peso contract back in June.

QC RTC Branch 215 Presiding Judge Rafael Hipolito, found enough merit in the petition of AllCard (the other company that bid for the supply of license cards) to stop the awarding of the contract. According to AllCard’s petition, the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Centralized Bids and Awards Committee committed grave abuse of discretion when they disqualified AllCard from the bidding despite presenting the lowest bid at PHP 176.8 million, which was below the PHP 240.12 million approved budget for the licenses. AllCard also alleged that the DOTr issued the award to Banner even though the period to file a protest was not yet through.

Because of the TRO, the LTO is still unable to provide plastic cards to the millions of driver’s license applicants and those who renewed them.

LTO chief appeals to ‘drop the case’

Just recently, LTO Chief, Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II, has appealed to AllCard, Inc. to drop the case so that the agency can finally deliver the plastic license cards to drivers.

“On behalf of the millions of our clients, I personally extend my appeal to AllCard, Inc. not to pursue the case it filed anymore for the sake of the Filipino people who are at the core of both our mission and vision to have an easier and convenient way of life through reliable technology platforms,” said Mendoza in a statement.

Mendoza said that they were relieved that the supply of plastic cards would be normalized and that the backlog would be finally over in the next few months, but because of the TRO – with the uncertainty at this point as to when the case would be resolved with finality – the men and women of the LTO family continue to be at the receiving end of frustrations of the affected motorists.

Mendoza added that while the government is ready to go on any prolonged legal battles on the issue and to exhaust all the available legal remedies to address this problem.