MORE than 22,000 license plates are set to be released by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7 either this January or on the first week of February.
LTO 7 Director Victor Emmanuel Caindec said his office is finalizing its negotiation with the management of SM Seaside City Cebu, a mall at the South Road Properties in Cebu City where car owners could claim their new plates.
He said space is not a problem at SM Seaside City Cebu. However, the LTO 7 and the mall management are coming up with a method for the distribution of the license plates without glitches.
The registered plates of vehicles with four wheels or more include the undistributed plates in January-June 2016, and unclaimed plates in 2017 and 2018.
Caindec said the LTO 7 would have no more backlog if all the license plates are claimed by car owners.
As to the license plates for motorcycles, he said the mass production, barring any delay, would start sometime in March.
Honoring operators
The LTO 7 also recognized the efforts made by the private operators for helping the agency by using their buses in transporting commuters for free during the Christmas season.
Caindec gave plaques of recognition to SMB Tourist Transport represented by Mark Anthony Boyo, Catalina Car Rentals, New Librando Trans and Ceres Liners for serving 2,840 passengers.
The transport operators said that as long as there will be available buses in their garage, they are willing to help the LTO 7’s Malasakit free ride program. / PAC