13 million Pinoys, and counting, have a license to drive this 2019

Based on the Land Transportation Office’s running tally, 13 million is the number, as of May 31 this year. Of that number, 7.3 million hold professional driver’s licenses, while the rest, or 5.7 million, hold a non-professional license.

This tally already surpasses the total registered driver’s licenses for 2018, which stood at 12.3 million. For the record, in 2017, there were 11.1 million, and in 2016, 10.3 million.

These numbers were provided by Weng Ocfemia of the LTO, as supplied to her by Stradcom, the LTO’s IT service provider.

This sharp increase in numbers wouldn’t surprise LTO, however. During the 107th anniversary observation of the Office last May 21 at its central office in Quezon City, LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar C. Galvante cited in his speech that these increases in the past years had been expected. And then in Inquirer Motoring’s interview yesterday, LTO Director Francis Ray Almora said, “With the observable increase of motor vehicles along our roads and streets, it is expected that the number of driver’s license holders would also increase.”

Pro vs non-pro

“The easy scheme of ownership which includes motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles has fueled the boom in ownership. The number of professional driver’s license holders may be attributed to the misconception that the classification of professional driver’s licenses translate to knowledge in driving. The classification of professional is when the driver will use the license to earn a living and non-professional means the driver’s license will only be used for personal purposes,” said Almora.

Interestingly, the number of apprehended drivers have also increased to almost 680,000, with an additional 38,700 apprehensions, or 6 percent more than the 2017 total of 640,500. Galvante, in his May 21 speech, lamented that despite the focus on road safety campaigns rather than apprehensions, there was still an increase in apprehended drivers. He thinks that this was due to the implementation of new special laws, such as the Children Safety on Motorcycle Act, and the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act, among others.

Galvante’s May 21 pronouncement included the agency’s preparations for the 10-year driver’s license validity. The LTO is currently issuing driver’s license cards with 5-year validity, recently upgraded from the 3-year validity period. This could mean motorists’ fewer trips to the LTO offices, less queues, and less traffic congestion in order to renew driver’s licenses. As of April 30, the LTO has printed around 10.3 million plastic cards with 5-year validity periods. Galvante also claimed that “to anticipate the driver’s license card requirements this year, the LTO pursued the procurement of driver’s license cards for 2019 via competitive bidding.”

Almora clarified yesterday that the first issuances of driver’s licenses with the 10-year validity period will be in 2021.

“The provision of RA 10930 is that the driver will be issued the 10-year license if he or she doesn’t have a violation or apprehension in a span of 5 years,” said Almora. RA 10930 of August 2, 2017, is an act rationalizing and strengthening the policy regarding driver’s licenses by extending its validity period, stating that, “…any holder of a professional or nonprofessional driver’s license who has not committed any violation of RA 4136 and other traffic laws, rules and regulations during the 5-year period shall be entitled to a renewal of such license for 10 years, subject to the restrictions as may be imposed by the LTO.”

Galvante assured that the implementing rules and regulations for the 10-year driver’s licenses has been drafted and subject for approval. Galvante said that “the LTO will be implementing these endeavors in the days to come.”  The preparations for the issuance of the 10-year licenses include the implementation of the new license examination for drivers of light and heavy vehicles; accreditation of driving schools, facilities and personnel; and standardization of the driving school curriculum.

The next question is, come 2021 when the 10-year licenses start getting issued, how many of these millions of license holders will actually be eligible to earn such a privilege? And of those who will not qualify, will they fall back into the 5-, or 3-year validity period?