LTO-7 chief assures faster processing of driver’s licenses

Faster processing of the driver’s license with five-year validity is assured by the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) especially with the recent opening of a new LTO center in a mall that can print and roll out license cards using a new system.

Director Victor Emmanuel Caindec, LTO-7 chief, said that new driver’s license applicants after passing the evaluation process and then the biometric procedure, photo capture, would get their driver’s license card within the day.

Caindec, however, said that would be if they had complied with the requirements for the driver’s license.

The five-minute process would only cover the biometric part, photo capture and the encoding part, but that would also depend on the internet connection at that time, he said.

But he assured that the process would be faster than previous processes in applying for a driver’s license.

He also said that drivers’ who are there to renew their licenses would get priority over those who are there to apply for new licenses.

“Mauna ang renewal kay penalty naman siya. Pwede mi makiha og graft nga dili namo marenew ug mianha siya anang adlawa (We give priority to those renewing their licenses because if we will not process their renewal they might be fined or penalized. Aside from that, we can also be charged with graft if we do not process the driver’s request, who went to our office to renew his driver’s license), Caindec said.

For those applying for a driver’s license for a first time, the drivers will have to undergo a biometric procedure where they will be asked by the LTO personnel for their basic information, and a photo will also be taken, which would take an average of five minutes.

“We are counting on the number of minutes the card is produced, from the encoding, printing and release, with the new system,” LTO-7 Assistant Regional Director Anita Pulga said

Caindec admitted that there are some lapses on their system, but he assured that they were doing their best way to address it.

“We are actually trying to see what are other ways nga ma improve namo ang among capacity to print,” he said.

The LTO-7 has at least 19 offices for licensing transactions in the region, 16 of which are offices having the new system of rolled out printing and releasing of license with five years validity. While the rest of the remaining offices are still waiting for an internet connection.

For a day, he said they can print an average of 200 to 280 licenses for every machines but that will depend on the connection of the internet.

For drivers who still have the official receipts as their licenses, Caindec said they could enjoy the same privileges to those who already had their plastic cards.

“It allows you to drive already. You have the same privileges, but you don’t have the plastic license,” he said.

“Whether you have your plastic or not, for as long as in our system your license is active, dili man ka ana madakpan (you will not be apprehended for that),” he added.

Caindec also said that there are about 800,000 backlogs or pending licenses in the region, in which they are trying to address.

“All of these backlogs were from the previous administration which the new administration is just trying to fix,” he said.

He also encouraged those, who had experienced any difficulties during the processing of their license, to file a complaint to the LTO’s Public Assistance and Complaint Desk, so they would be guided with their concerns.

Meanwhile, Caindec also clarified that Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who was their guest during the opening of a center at a mall, was renewing his driver’s license and was not given any special treatment when we processed his request for a renewal of his driver’s license.

Caindec made the clarification amid reactions from netizens about the processing Labella’s driver’s license.

“Karon pa man to siya naka renew ug wala man to siya nagpa-reprint (He was renewing his driver’s license and was there for a reprint of his driver’s license),” he said in a phone interview.

He reiterated that there is no favoritism in the processing of driver’s license and that again said that they give priority to the processing of drivers renewing their driver’s license over those seeking to apply for a driver’s license.