President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos has issued an executive order regulating the issuance of protocol license plates or low-numbered license plates to motor vehicles used by high-ranking government officials.
Executive Order No. 56 released on March 11 authorized high-ranking government officials to use the following protocol license plates for their motor vehicles:
- 1 and/or PANGULO - President of the Republic of the Philippines
- 2 - Vice President
- 3- Senate President
- 4- Speaker of the House of Representatives
- 5 - Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
- 6 - Cabinet secretaries
- 7 - Senators
- 8 - Members of the House of Representatives
- 9 - Associate justices of the Supreme Court
- 10 - Presiding justice of the Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan and Solicitor General
- 11 - Chairpersons of Constitutional Commissions and Ombudsman
- 14 - Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police
The President, Vice President, Senate President, House Speaker, and the Supreme Court Chief Justice will be granted three pairs of protocol license plates each, while the remaining high-ranking government officials will receive two pairs each.
As per Marcos, the protocol license plates remain valid only for the duration of the government officials' incumbency, and must be returned to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) "upon retirement, resignation, termination, or conclusion of term or duty assignment."
The LTO shall recommend the issuance of protocol license plates to high-ranking government officials, which will then be subject to approval by the Department of Transportation Secretary (DOTr).
Likewise, LTO can recommend the issuance of protocol license plates to the associate justices of the Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan.
The EO No. 56 was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin for the President.
