Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief and Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II on Monday hailed the decision of the Court of Appeals to lift the writ of preliminary injunction issued earlier by a Quezon City court. This decision pertains to the delivery of the remaining more than three million pieces of plastic cards used in the printing of driver’s licenses.
Following the CA's ruling, a minimum of one million plastic cards were sent to the LTO office on Monday afternoon, 25 March. These cards were originally scheduled for delivery, but was prevented due to the injunction order issued by the lower court.
“We admire and respect the wisdom of the justices of the Court of Appeals in their decision to lift the writ of preliminary injunction,” Mendoza said.
“Even before, we have been arguing that public interest must always prevail over business interest and in this case, the CA clearly saw the soundness and validity of the arguments we presented through the Office of the Solicitor General,” he added.
Mendoza said this was also the position of Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista who he said was also elated by the CA decision as this would be a big relief to the millions of Filipino motorists who were affected by the injunction order.
The case stemmed from the charges filed by the losing bidder Allcards Inc. in the procurement of around 5.2 million pieces of plastic cards early last year.
The winning bidder, Banner Plastic Card Inc., has already delivered nearly two million pieces when a Quezon City court issued the writ of preliminary injunction.
The LTO, through the OSG, elevated the case to the Court of Appeals for the lifting of the injunction, stating that the lower court’s decision would have a big impact on millions of Filipino motorists.
In its decision to lift the writ of preliminary injunction, the Court of Appeals argued that the QC RTC should have not entertained the case in the first place due to the failure of Allcard, Inc. to comply with the administrative process before seeking court intervention.
It was referring to the process in which the losing bidder should have appealed the disqualification before the DOTr’s Bids and Awards Committee as a matter of proper procedure.
The CA decision, penned by Associate Justice Jose Lorenzo R. Dela Rosa and concurred by Associate Justices Nina G. Antonio-Bautista and Emily Rialiño-Geluz, also stressed the government’s right to reject any and all bids subject to its discretion based on past Supreme Court’s decision.
For his part, Mendoza said he has already tasked some LTO officials to coordinate with Banner Plastics Card, Inc. for the immediate delivery of the plastic cards.
He said the LTO will come up with a new schedule of the release of plastic card-printed driver’s licenses in the soonest possible time.
With the decision, Mendoza expressed confidence that the backlog on plastic cards for driver’s licenses will be addressed as early as the second half of 2024, especially since Secretary Bautista has already ordered for the immediate bidding process for the procurement of over six million plastic cards under the General Appropriations Act.
Secretary Bautista on the other hand, also ordered the LTO to explore everything possible and legal means to ensure the speedy procurement of more plastic cards.
The backlog for plastic cards is over 4.1 million before the end of March this year.
The LTO issues 550,000 plastic cards every month.
"This is a victory for the Filipino people," Mendoza said.