Galvante: ‘Only qualified drivers should be on the road’

New policy to rid road of kamotes

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is trending again in social media. It all stems from when the agency announced the roll out driver’s licenses with 10-years validity for those qualified, starting today.

What actually sparked discussion is the new seminar requirement for all those who will renew their driver’s licenses.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr), on behalf the LTO, was quick to clarify that only select offices are capable of rolling out the 10-year Driver's License (DL). In addition, renewal will require drivers to undergo Comprehensive Driver’s Education (CDE).  The CDE is NOT FREE if taken outside of the LTO.

For now, the pilot rollout for the 10-year DL will start at the Central Office Licensing Section at the Quezon City Licensing Center (QCLC), while other LTO branches within NCR will follow suit starting November 3, 2021. What specific branches? Unfortunately, this was not included in the announcement.

“Only qualified drivers on the road”

In a recent statement, LTO chief, Edgar Galvante, said that only qualified drivers with the right skills and proper knowledge of road safety should be on the road. “The law wants to make sure that only qualified motorists who possess both driving skills and knowledge of road safety and road courtesy are given the privilege to drive motor vehicles,” said Galvante.

This is in accordance with Section 3 of the Republic Act 10930, “The LTO shall promulgate prerequisites and guidelines before the grant of drivers' licenses to ensure that these are issued only to deserving applicants with sufficient driving skills and knowledge on road safety and proper road courtesy. Toward this end, the conduct of theoretical and practical examinations, among others, must sufficiently measure the competency of drivers and must be designed to the type of license applied for its corresponding restrictions...”

Under Republic Act No. 10930 which amends the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, the new licenses that are valid for 10 years will be given to all driver’s license holders who do not have any traffic violations on file. Those with traffic violations recorded during the validity of their expired licenses will be issued renewed licenses that are only valid for 5 years.

Meanwhile, the validity of expired driver’s licenses has been extended by two months from the date of expiration. The extension aims to ensure that motorists who are renewing their licenses are given ample time to comply with the CDE requirement.

The CDE, consisting of video and written materials produced by the LTO, is being offered for free at all LTO offices and via the LTO website (lto.gov.ph), and through the LTO Facebook page and YouTube.

Create an LTMS account

Motorists renewing their expired driver’s licenses need only register for free at the LTO Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) via portal.lto.gov.ph, or can be assisted through the process by LTO front-liners in all LTO offices.

The LTMS allows all LTO clients to make transactions via the internet on a 24/7 basis, including bookings for DL applications. The portal has an extensive driver’s education library provided for free, including CDE materials. After studying the CDE materials, LTMS clients can take the required CDE exam online. Upon passing, they will be issued a CDE certificate to present when renewing a driver’s license.