No plastic cards, no problem. Well, sort of. In an announcement, the LTO was said to have tapped the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and through a partnership, will launch a “digital license”. As part of the agency’s efforts to digitalize its services, all of us might soon start using an electronic version of our driver’s license.
LTO wants to go digital, and driver’s licenses may be the first to get the treatment
Photo: LTO
As soon as he took the helm of the LTO, Chief Jay Art Tugade made a bold statement that his agency will be corruption-free, customer-driven, and fully digital. That was in November of last year. Since then, some measures have been taken to make dealing with the agency a little bit easier, but one of the biggest announcements regarding digitalization just came in today.
A collaboration with the DICT will bring about what they’re calling a “Super App”. This app which is still being developed by the DICT will house many platforms, the first of which is an electronic version of a motorist’s driver’s license which will serve as an alternative to the physical license card.
“The advantage of the digital license is that motorists can present it to law enforcement officers during apprehension. It is equivalent to presenting the physical driver’s license. We also appreciate the way the super app functions similarly to a wallet, containing all government IDs, among other things, within your mobile device,” Tugade expounded.
The digital license also aims to replace the Official Receipt (OR) as a temporary driver’s license which is currently printed on paper. The public will be able to utilize the digital license for various transactions with the agency, including license and registration renewals as well as for online payments.
Of course, security is a very big concern, and the LTO Chief confirmed that the existing security features of the driver’s license will be integrated into the digital version and will work in addition to the super app’s security measures.
It was only this March that the LTO and DICT entered into an e-governance partnership. The aim is simple: to enhance the digitalization of systems and processes within the LTO, ultimately improving its overall efficiency and effectiveness. Further, Tugade said that this partnership only shows his agency’s commitment to digitalizing as many of the LTO’s services as possible. “Simplifying and digitalizing more services will ultimately aid the agency in eradicating corruption,” Tugade added.
We are living in the digital age, indeed. But as “timely” as a “solution” a digital license in place of a physical card shortage is, we hope that all the kinks are ironed out before they even decide to formally roll this out. Security of one’s person and details is one thing, and the high potential for falsifying digital information is a much bigger problem. Again, we are living in the digital age after all.
Kudos for the efforts, no doubt! But let’s not force this into use before we are absolutely sure that it has been fool-proofed, yes? Yes.
what happens if your mobile device malfunctions or worse, gets stolen???????