LTO to require 15-hour seminar before student permit issuance

Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief assistant secretary, Edgar Galvante, announced that they will be suspending the issuance of student driver permits starting July 1, 2020. This will be in preparation for the shift to the mandatory requirement of a 15-hour theoretical driving course for all new drivers starting August 3, 2020.

“Effective July 1 [2020], we [LTO] will temporary suspend the issuance of student permits, because starting August, we will start requiring applicants to first undergo a 15-hour theoretical session,” said Galvante in Filipino.

Since September of last year, the LTO has announced that they will be requiring new drivers to attend a 15-hour lecture on laws and driving regulations of the land. This is in support of the President's directive to address the number of uneducated and undisciplined drivers on the road. 

On March this year, they have announced that the program will begin on April 6. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic and the government's quarantine sidelined its implementation. As such, the program was temporarily suspended.

“By August 3 [2020], student permit applicants will be required to undergo theoretical sessions. That’s why the LTO and the driving schools are already set up where they could enroll,” added Galvante, through an interview by DZMM TeleRadyo.