Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Supreme Court order stopping the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Department of Transportation and Communication from vehicle license plates came late since most of them have already been distributed, the LTO chief said.
Roberto Cabrera III told CNN Philippines Tuesday “probably 91, 92 percent” of the hundreds of thousands of plates donated by the Bureau of Customs have been distributed nationwide.
Earlier on Tuesday, the court issued a temporary restraining order barring the LTO and the DOTC from distributing 300,000 license plates for motor vehicles and 400,000 for motorcycles.
Related: Supreme Court stops release of license plates
The court acted on a petition to stop the donation filed by Congressmen Jonathan Dela Cruz and Gustavo Tambunting who argued that the plates were confiscated from Power Plates Development Concepts, Inc/J. Knieriem B.V. Goes for non-payment of taxes and customs duties. They said the Commission on Audit had issued a notice of disallowance requiring LTO/DOTC and PPI-JKG to return to the Bureau of Treasury the advance payment of almost P500 million to the plates provider.
“If we receive that notice from the Supreme Court, I will give a memo directing all regions – if they still have it with them – to stop distribution,” Cabrera said. “I believe that there are some regions across the country which already distributed the plates as soon as they got (them).”
He said his agency cannot recall the plates it has distributed. “As far as those plates are concerned … that (SC) order will be moot and academic,” he said.
He estimates the LTO is holding only about 7 percent of the original number of license plates. These remaining plates are replacements for the green or old plates, he said.
