The Association of Accredited Driving Schools of the Philippines, Inc. (AADSPI) recently pled to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to postpone the implementation of Memorandum Circular No. JMT-2023-2390.
MC No. JMT-2023-2390 is also known as the ‘Omnibus Guidelines on the Accreditation, Supervision, and Control of Driving Institutions, and the Standardization of Driver and Conductor’s Education’, and it effectively put a price cap on driving school fees.
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In response, the LTO has rejected calls to defer the price caps on driving school fees. According to a report by CNN Philippines, the LTO denied AADSPI’s appeal to postpone MC No. JMT-2023-2390. LTO chief Jose Art “Jay Art” Tugade said the agency cannot delay the implementation due to the public’s demand for more affordable driving school rates.
Tugade also responded to the claim that there was no dialogue between the LTO and AADSPI. The LTO chief told the press that talks and consultations took place between driving schools, stakeholders, and the agency.
"In fact, the expenditure items and the costs used by the TWG in its cost analysis to arrive at the prescribed maximum rates came from the driving schools. Contrary to their allegations that their inputs were disregarded or not considered by the LTO, the price of the TDC was increased based on their feedback," said Tugade.
With that, it’s full steam ahead for the price cap’s implementation on April 15, 2023. These are the maximum prescribed rates set by the LTO:
For motorcycle driving courses:
Theoretical driving course (TDC) – P1,000
Practical driving course (PDC) – P2,500
For light vehicle driving courses:
Theoretical driving course (TDC) – P1,000
Practical driving course (PDC) – P4,000
For heavy vehicle driving courses:
Theoretical driving course (TDC) – P1,000
Practical driving course (PDC) – P8,000
