MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has extended the deadline for the use of temporary and improvised license plates.
In a statement, LTO said that motor vehicle owners now have until December 31, 2024 to install their permanent license plates. The previous deadline was on Sunday, September 1.
“We ask the motorists to claim and install their respective license plates as soon as they are available either in the car dealerships and replacement plates in our offices,” LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said.
LTO previously issued a memorandum circular prohibiting the use of improvised and temporary plates after a discovery that owners are not claiming theirs from car dealerships.
Mendoza said that there are no more backlogs for four-wheel vehicles, and that the remaining issue concerns license plates of motorcycles.
In January 2023, LTO found at least 1.7 million unclaimed license plates in its regional offices. This came after the Commission on Audit flagged the agency for its plate backlog for motor vehicles.
In January 2024, meanwhile, the LTO said that it was investigating what it tagged as a “grand illegal scheme” involving staff stealing and eventually selling license plates for P20,000 a pair. The Philippine National Police were able to arrest three suspects in the same month. – Rappler.com