Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Vigor Mendoza II has now stated that motorists who fail to claim their replacement license plates within 60 days will not be penalized.
“In order to set the record straight, the 60-day deadline to get the unclaimed license plates is not for the motor vehicle owners,” said Mendoza. “It is actually a directive to all our regional directors, district chiefs, offices, and extension offices to find the best ways to properly and efficiently distribute the unclaimed license plates within 60 days.
“The same order covers car dealers and motorcycle dealers because we also received reports that there are a number of unclaimed license plates in their custody.
“The order is not intended for the motor vehicle owners because it’s the LTO’s mandate to issue plates.”
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In July, the Commission on Audit (COA) reported that over 1.7 million pairs of replacement license plates are yet to be delivered to their owners. Mendoza himself currently an LTO facility in Cebu where around 640,000 unclaimed plates—400,000 of which are motorcycle license plates—are stocked.
Added the official: “We are also studying all the possible measures to compel motor vehicle owners to secure their unclaimed license plates.”
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) recently launched the website LTOplatereplacement.com, which allows vehicle owners to check the availability of their replacement plates and where these may be claimed. We’ve given it a try ourselves to see how if it actually works. According to the DOTr, the uploading of the plate inventory onto the website’s database is currently ongoing, so if your inquiry result is to check again in 60 days, either your replacement plates have not been printed yet or they are yet to be recorded in the system.
