Pinoys with LTO licenses can now drive in Spain

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos can now easily be allowed to drive in Spain with driver’s licenses issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) because of a recently enforced agreement.

The RP-Spain Driver’s License Agreement, earlier signed in 2007, has been put in place after some technical glitches were resolved, according to LTO chief Alberto Suansing.

Suansing said the agreement was signed three years ago between the LTO, then headed by Reynaldo Berroya, and Spain’s Direccion Generale de Trapiko.

“This will work as a system for exchange of information between us and Spain. It will be easier for Filipinos in Spain to get their Spanish driver’s licenses by just presenting their valid LTO-issued driver’s licenses,” Suansing said in an interview. He said Filipino drivers would no longer undergo another test there.

The LTO chief said that with the easy exchange of digital information, authorities in Spain could easily validate with the LTO whether a driver’s license being presented there by a Filipino is valid.

Suansing said Spain is the first foreign country to have recognized the LTO-issued license in their territory.

He said the agency hopes to forge similar agreements with other countries, noting that the agency is now eyeing an agreement with Italy.

According to Suansing, a driver’s license is important for Filipinos in Spain, as it is a requirement for most jobs there.

Suansing said that as of last Friday, there were already some 700 inquiries about LTO-issued licenses from their counterparts in Spain.