AMID 30K BACKLOG: LTO-6 hits streets to deliver motorcycle plates

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By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Land Transportation Office Region 6 is expediting the distribution of long-delayed motorcycle license plates through street-level operations and on-the-spot issuance at checkpoints.

On Monday, August 4, LTO-6 launched the nationwide initiative “Oplan: Stop, Plate and Go,” allowing motorcycle drivers to receive their unclaimed license plates on the spot, if available.

The agency is using four patrol vehicles to set up checkpoints at plazas and major roads across Iloilo City.

The campaign aims to reduce the region’s backlog of unclaimed motorcycle plates, which dates back to 2014.

“All the plates from 2014 until 2022 have already been printed, and this is our backlog,” said LTO-6 Assistant Regional Director Jeck Conlu.

“The biggest challenge is giving out the plates. In Western Visayas, we have an initial backlog of over 300,000 plates since 2014,” he added.

On August 5, the agency set up an operation at Jaro Plaza, where 80 qualified motorists received pre-printed replacement plates.

LTO-6 is targeting its next operations at the plazas of Molo, Mandurriao, and La Paz.

“We will have it in plazas since we have a wide space so that we won’t create congestion in our traffic flow,” Conlu said.

“For those who haven’t claimed their plates, we already have them. You can claim them at the LTO offices. That way, when enforcement intensifies, you won’t have to run from us,” he added.

LTO-6 reported that more than 27,000 motorcycle plates have been released in Western Visayas as of August 3.

To claim plates at checkpoints, motorists must present their official receipt and certificate of registration for verification.

If the plates are not immediately available, they are assisted through the LTO’s live digital tracking system.

In his State of the Nation address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the LTO to prevent future backlogs by ensuring that new vehicle plates and registrations are released within a three-day period.

The LTO-6 will begin strict enforcement of the “No Plate, No Travel” policy by the end of August 2025, following a brief extension due to delayed plate deliveries.

Regional Director Atty. Gaudioso Geduspan II said the policy was originally set for July 15 but was moved due to delays in the arrival of some plates.

Geduspan clarified that motorcycle plates dated January and February 2021 are still pending delivery.

These will be exempted from penalties once the policy takes effect, provided the plates remain unavailable from the LTO.