While various branches of the Land Transportation Office across Central Visayas started this year to print plastic driver’s licenses with five-year validity, the LTO in Bohol still has not started to manufacture the said identification cards.
Florencio Balazuela, LTO Tagbilaran information officer, told dyRD Balita on Thursday that their regional office still has not issued a directive ordering the start of the printing and issuance of plastic cards with longer validity.
Of the 23 LTO satellite offices in Central Visayas, eight started to print plastic driver’s licenses on Wednesday.
Balazuela also said that even if they were ordered to start, the LTO Tagbilaran satellite office will still not be able to print plastic licenses due to the lack of adequate internet connectivity.
The LTO in Manila had earlier said that the new system for processing the plastic driver’s licenses was “highly internet-driven.”
According to Balazuela, a minimum of 5 Mbps was needed to effectively operate the machine supplied by Germany-based Dermalog, but LTO Tagbilaran currently only has an internet speed of 3 Mbps.
Balazuela said that they are expecting to have a 5-Mbps internet system installed within the month as backlog in the issuance of plastic driver’s licenses with five year validity continued to grow.
In its latest data, the LTO disclosed that they are behind in issuing 343,917 plastic driver’s licenses in Central Visayas.
However, Balazuela noted that other LTO offices in Jagna, Talibon and the Driver’s License Renewal Office at the Island City Mall already possess a 5-Mbps internet connection.
Balazuela had earlier said that LTO offices in Bohol are expected to start using the Dermalog machine and issuing the driver’s licenses which will be valid for five years within January.
LTO Tagbilaran also received last month 20,000 plastic cards which will be printed on and used as licenses, he added. (Rey Tutas)