After criticizing the slow rollout of license plates during his first press conference as the new Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary last week, Vince Dizon on Tuesday posed a challenge to the Land Transportation Office (LTO)— release plates for new vehicles within 72 hours.

Dizon said he also expects the LTO to already be able to address the backlog issue which began in 2014, especially for motorcycle plates.

COA calls out LTO for 9 million backlog in motorcycle plates

“Yung mga motorsiklo, 2014 pa yata. Hanggang ngayon hindi pa nila nakukuha plaka nila. Ang labo naman nun. 2025 na. Pwede na ba natin finally maibigay lahat ng backlog ng mga motorsiklo?” he said.

“At pwede ba, moving forward, hindi na mauulit yun? Pwede ba, 24/48/72 hours makuha na nila plaka nila? Both motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles… We will post that challenge and we will see if the LTO can deliver,” added Dizon.

LTO says to clear license plates backlog by June 2025

According to Dizon, he will also set a deadline for the LTO to achieve this.

“Kasi kung walang deadline, natural na babanjing-banjing ka lang o hindi ka pressured. Pero kung may deadline, kahit papano, talagang magpupursige ka. From now on, ang sabi ko sa mga kasama ko sa DOTr, hindi pwedeng walang deadline,” he said.