Starting Thursday (Oct. 28), the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will be issuing driver’s licenses that are valid for ten years in line with the provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 10930 which amended the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.
In addition to the granting of a driver’s license valid for 10 years, Sec. 3 of RA 10930 also mandates the LTO to conduct an examination on both applicants of new driver’s licenses and on those who are renewing expired ones.
“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 LTO chief Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante.
Motorists who will be renewing their expired driver’s licenses will have to pass the Comprehensive Driver’s Education (CDE) which is composed of a refresher seminar and an examination designed to make sure that only deserving applicants who have sufficient driving skills and are knowledgeable of road safety and proper road courtesy will have their licenses renewed.
Sec. 3 of RA 10930 states: “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: Provided, that for professional drivers, the tests must be appropriated to the vehicle and type of service the applicant intends to operate.”
The rollout of the driver’s licenses that are valid for 10 years will start at the LTO’s Central Office- Licensing Section and the Quezon City Licensing Center (QCLC). At the moment, not all LTO offices will be able to issue driver’s licenses that are valid for 10 years. A week following the pilot run at the LTO Central Office-Licensing Section, and at the Quezon City Licensing Center (QCLC), driver’s licenses that are valid for 10 years will be issued by other LTO offices in Metro Manila.
Motorists who will be renewing their licenses in areas where the system of issuing 10-year valid licenses are not yet in place can renew their driver’s licenses using the old system, the LTO said.
Motorists renewing their licenses in LTO offices that are now ready to issue 10-year valid licenses, will be required to take the CDE seminar and its accompanying examination.
The CDE seminar will be conducted for a maximum of five hours and can be taken for free in driver’s education centers (DECs) and for a fee in LTO-accredited driving schools. Motorists can also take the seminar online via the LTO’s Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) portal.
Motorists who fail the examination following the CDE seminar will be required to retake the test.
Under RA 10930 which amended 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 five 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 free at all LTO offices and via the LTO website (lto.gov.ph), and through the LTO Facebook page and YouTube.
Motorists applying for the renewal of their expired driver’s licenses need only to register for free at the LTO LTMS via portal.lto.gov.ph, or can be assisted through the process by LTO frontliners in all LTO offices.
The LTMS allows all LTO clients to make transactions via the internet on a 24/7 basis, including bookings for driver’s license 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 and upon passing it will be issued a CDE certificate to be used in the renewal of the expired driver’s license. (LTO) – jlo
