In case you missed it, the days when you could learn to operate a vehicle free of charge from a parent, friend, or family driver is long gone, because a certificate of course completion from a driving school accredited by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is now a requirement for prospective motorists.
Under the agency’s new guidelines, student-drivers applying for either a professional or non-professional license must complete a 15-hour theoretical driving course and an eight-hour practical driving course from an LTO-accredited establishment.
According to Memorandum Circular No. 2019-2176, “Student-drivers permit shall only be issued upon completion of a mandatory theoretical driving course to be conducted by LTO or its duly accredited driving schools for at least 15 hours and shall be completed within two years from the start of the course.” You can read more about these changes here.
Below is a full list of driving schools with LTO accreditation across the Philippines posted on the agency’s official Facebook page:
By the looks of it, most of the country’s big-name driving schools are on board with this. While it looks like a good number of establishments have already been accredited, some regions only have a handful of driving schools listed by the LTO. Region 1 and Region 4B, for example, only have four listings, while the Cordillera Administrative Region only has two.
News of the LTO’s new driver’s license guidelines first surfaced in October last year, and the agency began requiring driving course completion certificates from applicants earlier this month. You can read MC 2019-2176 in its entirety here.
Do you think these new rules will lead to having more competent motorists behind the wheel? Or is this move just another form of unnecessary red tape. We’re certainly hoping for the former. Let us know your opinion in the comments.
