A HOUSE leader filed a bill seeking to scrap additional requirements for driver’s license renewal that the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has started to impose.
House Deputy Speaker Rufus B. Rodriguez filed House Bill 10430 that would repeal a provision in Republic Act 10930 that mandates the LTO to establish guidelines and prerequisites for a driving license.
“The LTO has come up with new, unnecessary, and burdensome requirement for all new drivers in order to get their student permits, get their new driver’s license, or in renewing their driver’s license,” according to the bill.
Mr. Rodriguez said that although driver’s education classes are free of charge through the LTO website, it could provide an additional expense to Filipinos as it could “unduly enrich” driving schools as these classes are offered from P1,000 to P3,000.
The LTO issued a memo on Oct. 25, citing RA 10930, that would allow drivers to get a renewed license valid for 10 years under the condition that there are no prior traffic violations on record and undergo the comprehensive driver’s education (CDE) classes.
The classes are available for free on the LTO site, but accredited driving schools are also allowed to offer these for a fee.
The new policy started on Oct. 28 at LTO’s Central Office and Quezon City Licensing Center. It will take effect in other Metro Manila offices on Nov. 3, while implementation outside the capital has yet to be set.
Mr. Rodriguez said these additional requirements could be a “source of red tape, harassment and corruption.”
The lawmaker also filed House Resolution 2325 urging the LTO to immediately remove the CDE requirement.
“There is no provision in the law which explicitly states that a certification for a CDE is required for renewing a driver’s license,” Mr. Rodriguez said in a statement.
He also urged his fellow congressmen to investigate the matter and called on the LTO to “properly explain the basis for its impositions and to prove that the correct legal processes were complied with.” — Russell Louis C. Ku