LTO to reduce theoretical driving course, seminar times by half 

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) plans to shorten the required theoretical driving course and relevant seminar for student driver’s permit applicants. 

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Teofilo Guadiz III is mulling shorter hours for the theoretical driving course

In an Inquirer report, this emerged during a hearing of the Senate finance subcommittee Friday on the proposed budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The hearing was presided by chairperson Sen. Grace Poe and attended by LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Teofilo Guadiz III. 

Sen. Poe lamented that the process that new license applicants have to undergo is too long. Currently, this comprises a 15-hour theoretical driving course, an 8-hour practical driving course, and a 3-day seminar. 

“’Di ba napakahaba nito? Nasa IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) lang naman ninyo ‘yan, ‘di ba? Wala naman sa batas,” Poe said. 

(Isn’t that too long? It’s just in your IRR, right? It’s not in the law.)

Senator Grace Poe has been questioning the agency on the current requirements for new license applicants

Guadiz explained that the previous LTO leadership was responsible for the current requirements, even as he admitted that these might be too long and costly for much of the general public. 

“We feel, your honor, that 15 hours may be a little long and we feel that three days of the seminar may be quite expensive, especially for those working people,” he told the committee. 

Guadiz added that he is exploring the possibility of reducing both the theoretical driving course and seminar to just seven hours each. “We feel that about seven to eight hours would be justified. We will just consolidate some topics; most of these are on road signs and road safety,” he noted.

However, Guadiz said that the 8-hour requirement for the practical driving course should be retained. 

Guadiz says the LTO will secure its online portal amid reports of cheating in driver's license exams

In the same hearing, the LTO chief revealed his discovery of a scheme involving the agency’s web portal in which one person attends the required online seminar for driver’s license renewal, while another would take the corresponding examination. 

“As we go on in most of these cases, I would say 75 to 80 percent, it is another person who’s taking the seminar, it is another person who is taking the examination,” he said. 

The LTO says that it is already studying options to strengthen its online system against cheaters and fixers, adding that it is in the process of developing facial recognition software to this end.  

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