Paper receipt instead of driver’s license card is now a thing of the past as the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has ended the backlog in the license card, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade said on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, Tugade said the LTO has three million driver’s license cards backlog when the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte came in in 2016.

“Ngunit dahil sa pagpupunyagi ng LTO, sa pamumuno ni Asec. Edgar Galvante, ngayon ay nasolusyunan na ito (But because of the endeavor of LTO, under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante, now it has been resolved),” he said.

The LTO has issued a total of 27,620,091 driver’s license cards from July 2016 to March 30, 2021.

“Ngayon, ang dating papel na lisensya, card na, at valid pa for five years! (Now, licenses which used to be paper in the past are now cards, and they’re valid for five years!),” Tugade said.

He said the driver’s license cards also have security features that prevent tampering or other illicit activities.

In a Viber message to reporters, DOTr Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran said everyone who applies for a new or renewal of their driver’s license will immediately receive their driver’s license card.

She said by October this year, the LTO is on track for its issuance of 10-year valid driver’s licenses for drivers without demerit points in its system.

Several years ago, the LTO used to issue paper receipts to drivers who apply for new or renewal of their driver’s licenses due to a backlog on the issuance of driver’s license cards.

In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law extending the validity of driver’s license from three to five years with a possibility of a 10-year license card for drivers with no traffic violations.