THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) yesterday said it is planning shorten the examination for driver’s license applicants to eliminate their reliance on fixers.
LTO chief Jay Art Tugade said he has formed a committee to analyze the exam questions and has given instructions to condense the content without sacrificing the test’s credibility.
“The instruction I gave to our committee was to compress the exam. This exam reportedly takes about an hour. The agency is now studying how to shorten the exam. I believe that by reducing the exam duration, our applicants will not seek out fixers and will opt to take the exam themselves,” Tugade said in a statement.
He acknowledged that the lengthy procedure in getting a driver’s license is one of the reasons why many applicants resort to patronizing fixers.
The examination seeks to assess the competence of applicant drivers, with an emphasis on their knowledge, skills, and attitude.
Tugade is eyeing shorter examinations for applicants seeking new non-professional licenses, new conductor’s licenses, changing classification from non-professional to professional, and adding or updating a driver’s license code.
In addition to shortening the examination duration, Tugade said the committee will also “customize” the questions depending on the type of license being applied for.
Last month, the LTO issued a memorandum circular scrapping the periodic medical examination (PME) requirements for holders of driver’s licenses with either 5-year or 10-year validity to ease the burden on motorists.
The agency has also ordered a three-year validity for the registration of all new motorcycles in the country.
According to Memorandum Circular No. JMT-2023-2395, the initial registration of brand new motorcycles even those with an engine displacement of 200cc and below shall be valid for three years.
Under the existing provisions of Republic Act 4136 (Land Traffic Code) and Republic Act 11032 (Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018), only motorcycles with an engine displacement of 201cc and above are entitled to a three-year validity of initial registration.
