Asst. Sec. Alfonso V. Tan, Jr. (left), chief of the Land Transportation Office, together with LTO spokesman Jose Mari T. Salvador and LTO regional director Arnel Tancinco show the new license plates. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) yesterday presented how the new vehicle license plates will look like.
Transportation Assistant Secretary Alfonso Tan Jr., chief of the LTO, said a simpler and more identifiable design will replace eight million old car plates nationwide.
He said the new car plates will initially be rolled out in Metro Manila. Vehicles in Central Visayas will begin to sport the new car plates by January.
“We are trying to change 30 years of culture here. They should take time to understand it and if they find any errors they can talk to me and we will discuss it,” Tan said.
He said the new set of plate numbers is highly visible from any angle because of its simple minimalist design and its color combination.
The LTO will distribute plate cards with three letters and four number combination to accommodate the growing number of vehicle registrants.
For private vehicles, the plates will be colored black over a white background. The bottom will state the region where the drivers belong to.
For public utility vehicles, the plates will be black with a yellow background.
The bottom will state the classification of the utility vehicle and the region where it belongs to.
The upper left side is a bar code that contains information about the vehicle in preparation for a fast inspection on roads with the use of bar code readers.
Special bolt
A special bolt is also provided to prevent people from detaching the car plates.
In case the plate cards are removed, Tan said there is a third plate sticker that will be placed on their windshield that will serve to identify the vehicle just like the plate number.