The Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has just launched the Plate Registration Management Information Office (PRMIS) for a swift and hassle-free release of the official receipt/certificate of registration (OR/CR) and car plates within three days.
According to DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon, motorists don’t have to wait for several months or even years to secure their plates and the OR/CR of their vehicles.
Dizon explained that the new system is part of the widespread digitalization in the DOTr and its attached agencies for a swift and comfortable service to the public.
Dizon said that this is in response to the directive of President Bongbong Marcos.
“Sa ating mga motorista, makaka-asa kayo—ngayong pinilit tayo ng Pangulong Bongbong Marcos na gumawa ng paraan para pabilisin ang release ng plaka. Maximum three days makukuha niyo na ang inyong mga plaka (To our motorists, be rest assured—as President Bongbong Marcos insisted that we should find a way to speed up the release of the plates. Maximum of three days, you’ll be able to get your car plates),” Dizon said in a statement released by DOTr.
Dizon said that if Filipino motorists used to wait it out for years for their plates and OR/CR, that would no longer be the case as the transport agency said it has sped up the process. “Noon, kailangan pang maghintay ng ating mga kababayan para sa kanilang plaka, OR/CR. Taon ang bibilangin. Ngayon, mas mabilis na,” he said.
Dizon added that the DOTr and LTO will continue to cooperate/coordinate with car dealerships to improve the swift processing and release of the car plates.
“Sa mga car dealerships, tulungan niyo kami para makuha ng mga kababayan natin na at least same day makuha nila yung plaka nila. Iro-rollout na natin ito sa buong bansa in the coming days (To the car dealerships, help us so our fellow Filipinos can get their car plates at least on the same day. This will be rolled out nationwide in the coming days),” said Dizon.
PRMIS is an online system in line with the instruction of President Marcos for a shift of all government services to digital platforms, and aimed at completing the registration and license plates transaction within three days.
“This is what our President envisioned amid the perennial problem on vehicle registration that hounded the LTO over the years. Sa Bagong Pilipinas, ang bagong sasakyan, may plaka na agad (For the New Philippines, a new car will have license plates in no time),” said Secretary Dizon.
“And with the LTO finally solving the plate backlog in the past 11 years, we could say that this new platform is the Bagong Pilipinas way of ensuring na hindi na tayo mag karoon ng backlog sa plaka (we will no longer have backlogs for new plates),” he stressed.
While the LTO was busy in the past months to wipe out the 11-year backlog on license plates, it has been quietly testing the fastest possible time frame wherein both the OR/CR and the license plates are released.
And less than a week after the license plates backlog was wiped out, the LTO and the DOTr are now ready to introduce to the millions of motor vehicle owners the PRMIS, which would end the culture of waiting for registration documents and license plates.
Problem since 1964
Since its creation in 1964, LTO has wrestled with a deeply rooted problem, the agonizing delay in motor vehicle registration and license plate release. Over the years, this became the norm.
People bought cars but drove them without plates and registration. Some waited three months, others six. A few waited over a year. And in the chaos, fixers thrived and public trust sank.
But that culture ends now, says the LTO.
“This was a national embarrassment we refused to pass on to another generation. You don’t buy a car and wait months to legally drive it. That ends with us,” said LTO Assistant Secretary Atty Vigor D. Mendoza II.
The new normal
On May 6 this year, the LTO launched PRMIS’ pilot rollout in Metro Manila, Region III, and Region IV-A.
On July 15, the entire country followed. Every dealership, every LTO office, every brand-new motor vehicle, is supposedly subject to the new rule: No vehicle leaves the dealership without its official registration and plate attached.
Mendoza said the LTO, working in lockstep with dealerships nationwide, has implemented a streamlined process that allows registration to be processed online, with plates released within minutes to an hour.
“Every document, every system check, every regulatory requirement, all completed before the unit rolls out of the dealership,” he said.
“For years, we were told this problem was too big, too complex, too systemic. We’ve proven otherwise. This is what Bagong Pilipinas looks like: no drama, just delivery,” he said.
As of today, the system is live. The message is firm: If there’s no registration, no plate, there is no release of the vehicle in the dealership.
Banner image shows Dizon (left) and LTO Executive Director Atty. Greg G. Pua Jr showing new car plates released within 3 days during the PRMIS national rollout