Land Transportation Office chief Vigor Mendoza II. (Photo courtesy of LTO)
MANILA – Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Vigor Mendoza II on Tuesday appealed to Allcard Inc. to end their legal battle that may result in another halt in the supply of plastic cards for driver’s licenses.
In a statement, Mendoza said the recent writ of preliminary injunction (WPI) issued by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to halt the supply of plastic cards from Banner Plasticard, Inc. would take away “the hope for normalcy from millions of our affected and would-be affected kababayans (countrymen).”
“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 easier and convenient way of life through reliable technology platforms,” he said.
The WPI has been issued but will only take effect once Allcard, the LTO’s previous supplier of plastic cards, gives an injunction bond of PHP6 million.
“Wala man ako sa LTO nang mag-umpisa ang problemang ito, ramdam na ramdam ko ang epekto nito sa ating mga kababayan (I may not have been with the LTO when this problem started, but I can feel its effect to the public),” he said.
While the LTO is ready for a prolonged legal battle on the issue, he noted that there is too much uncertainty as to when the case would be resolved with finality.
“Wala namang mawawala sa pagpapakumbaba para sa kapakanan ng milyong-milyon nating mga kababayan na apektado nito (We will not lose anything if we humble ourselves for the millions of Filipinos that will be affected),” he said.
On Monday, Mendoza announced that the WPI was granted in favor of Allcard but has yet to take effect, with the delivery of plastic cards continuing in all LTO offices.
To date, he said a total of 1.9 million cards have been delivered by Banner Plasticard, Inc., with 3.3 million remaining in its contract.
If the WPI takes effect, he noted that the LTO will again halt the issuance of plastic license cards, except to replace the driver’s licenses that expired in May and June.
He said bidding for the supply of plastic cards next year has already started to ensure that there will be enough supply to last until the third quarter of 2024.
Allcard bagged the LTO contract in 2015.
Banner Plasticard took over this year, which AllCard questioned and filed for temporary restraining order in August. (PNA)
