The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Tuesday said it has issued a notice to proceed to Banner Plastic Card, Inc. for the delivery of 5.2 million driver’s license plastic cards.
According to Transport undersecretary for administration and finance, Kim Robert De Leon, up to one million plastic cards will be delivered in the next 60 days as part of the initial batch from Banner Plastic Card, Inc., the contractor behind LandBank’s Visa debit cards.
Banner Plasticard manufactures prepaid top-up cards, lottery tickets, scratch-and-win cards, contactless smart cards/RFID tags and magnetic ticket cards, among others.
The government drew a contract for the delivery of 5.2 million cards worth P219.24 million.
“We expect the license card backlog to be addressed quickly. Our aim is to normalize the supply of the cards so we will ensure that Banner delivers the cards efficiently,” De Leon said.
According to De Leon, Banner Plastic Card, Inc. should make its first delivery within 60 days from 26 June 2023 as part of the terms of reference.
De Leon gave assurance that while it may take time for Banner to deliver the first set of plastic cards, the DOTr is working double time to catch up with the depleted supply.
“We are working with Banner to see if we can have license cards delivered the soonest,” he said.
Arnel Barbierra, Banner Plasticard representative, said the business is committed to deliver the one million cards within 60 days.
LTO previously estimated a backlog in driver’s license plastic cards 690,000 wide.
The LTO has already extended the validity of driver’s licenses expiring on 24 April to 31 October and bring online its services like the renewal of permits, registration and payment transactions at the agency.
