Metro bus drivers need TESDA certificate to ply trade by 2012

MANILA, Philippines - Bus drivers without a certification from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will be prohibited from plying through Metro Manila starting next year, an official said yesterday.

Former Land Transportation Office head and Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) consultant Alberto Suansing told bus drivers and operators that a National Certificate (NC) III will become mandatory for all bus drivers whose routes include Metro Manila starting January 2012.

Suansing made the announcement during the kickoff of TESDA’s six-day training for at least 30 bus firm officials who will be tapped by their companies to train their drivers in safe and defense driving.

The scheme is in preparation for the 2013 implementation of the DOTC’s directive, which will require public utility bus drivers nationwide to be NC-III certified.

The training week will be divided into lecture, driving practice, and assessment, according to Marty Hernandez, TESDA public information officer. Those who pass the training could become trainers themselves, while those who fail will be allowed to take a reassessment exam.

The training will focus on the driver’s knowledge, skills, and especially attitude while on the road, said Gabriel Bordado, TESDA executive director for competency assessment and certification.

He said figures reaching their office show that more 80 percent of vehicular mishaps are caused by driver error. Bordado said the current training is for free but those who will avail will pay P500 per take. The NC III will be renewed every five years and can be revoked depending on the driver’s violations.

Suansing also said the government is conducting training on the enforcement side to ensure that the scheme will be strictly implemented.

N. Dela Rosa Transit representative Jun Ranido said the plan to make all drivers NC III-certified is “achievable” if it will be strictly implemented by the authorities.

Ranido said the new directive “is just one of the solutions” and the government, particularly the Department of Publics Works and Highways, must craft more solutions to address road problems.

Meanwhile, North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, a former congresswoman, urged TESDA to provide free training to underprivileged women seeking employment as motor vehicle drivers.

“There are many unemployed or underemployed women who want to learn how to drive, but they are being discouraged by the high cost of driving lessons,” she said.

She described as “prohibitive” the P30,700 to P45,600 being charged by private schools for a basic 30-hour driving course that includes two hours of classroom orientation, eight hours of lectures, and practice sessions.

Mendoza said the TESDA-trained women, after getting their professional licenses from the Land Transportation Office, could be initially hired as school bus or family drivers, and later as drivers of other vehicles.

She also urged the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to require all operators of public utility vehicles, including school buses, to reserve for women at least 10 percent of their new posts for drivers.

“Operating a PUV is a privilege granted by the government through the LTFRB, which can impose any conditions to a franchise,” she said.