ILOILO City – An added burden. Unnecessary. A waste of time.
This was how drivers described the new mandatory examination for driver’s license renewal even if the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has said this is free and accessible online.
Why the need for another exam when he already took and passed one the first time he applied for a license, asked public utility jeepney (PUJ) driver Bruce Bereno of Barangay Bolong Oeste, Santa Barbara, Iloilo.
“Ang mabuol sang exam amo lang ang bag-o nga ma-apply,” Bereno told Panay News.
He has been driving PUJs servicing the Santa Barbara-Iloilo City route and vice versa for over 20 years.
In a statement on Tuesday, LTO chief Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante said the exam and educational materials that are part of the comprehensive driver’s education program (CDEP) can be accessed cost-free through LTO’s Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) website portal.lto.gov.ph.
LTO intends to disseminate the CDEP to all and enforce the traffic violations system. Its goal is to “raise the quality of Filipino drivers and improve road safety,” Galvante said.
“Indi gid ako pabor nga mabuol sang exam,” said Bereno.
He already knew the traffic rules and regulations, he insisted, and in his over two decades of being a PUJ driver he never committed a traffic infraction.
Raymundo Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA), said their group is against CDEP, calling it “perwisyo” (an inconvenience).
Parcon is particularly concerned of drivers who may have difficulty reading.
“May drivers kita nga indi kabalo magbasa,” he said.
Parcon added: “May drivers kita nga ang pangabuhian driving lang. Kon indi sia makabiyahe subong nga adlaw, indi kakaon pamilya niya.”
In this time of pandemic, CDEP is all the more burdensome, Parcon said.
According to the LTO, educational materials such as videos, slide presentations, and e-books available under the CDEP may take several hours to view but the mandatory exam itself is simple, made up of 25 questions and requires a passing rate of 50 percent or 13 correct answers for both professional and non-professional license holders.
The exam has no time limit and maybe retaken immediately by non-passers.
If successful, a certificate will be issued to the license holder to proceed with the license renewal.
But driver Monico Azucena from Pavia, Iloilo was not impressed.
“Sang nagligad pagpa-renew mo, nag-exam ka dun. Tapos subong exam pa gid? Dapat sina ang exam sa bag-o nga manogbuol. Tama lang na ka-awat sa amon biyahe bisan libre pa,” said Azucena.
Driver Dexter Geneblaso suggested that the exam be made mandatory only to those applying for a student’s permit and first time driver’s license applicants.
“Dapat ang bag-uhanon or non-professional lang ang pakuhaon sang exam. Adlaw-adlaw kami nagabiyahe malipat pa kami sang traffic rules?” said Geneblaso.
But if LTO would insist on this CDEP, he admitted there was nothing the drivers could do but follow or they would be losing their live livelihood.
For Rolly Celestial, a taxi driver for over 20 years and resident of Jamindan, Capiz, the exam would be an added expense.
Some drivers, he said, would be enrolling in accredited private driving schools to get the exam to avoid the inconvenience of having to deal with LTO in this stage of license renewal – and these schools would certainly charge fees.
For Ferdinand Valdez of Sigma, Capiz and a taxi driver for 34 years now, their sector has no choice but comply with the new policy or drivers won’t be able to work.
“Sabihin man namin na hindi kami, ipapatupad pa rin nila ang gusto nila. So, ano ang gagawin namin kundi sumunod na lang. Pero if may choice kami, hindi na kami kukuha,” said Valdez.
But not all are against CDEP. Jay Mantilla of Cabatuan, Iloilo and a private car owner said, “Okay ako ‘ya kay ti para man ina sa imo nga driver. Para makabalo kaw sang traffic rules kag masiguro nga ang nahatagan sang drivers’ license ang may ihibalo man sa traffic rules.”
He also commended LTO to make the exam free of charge./PN
