ILOILO CITY, Philippines – Representative Jerry Treñas of this city’s lone district said that professional driver’s license applicants should not be required anymore to secure a National Bureau of Investigation and police clearances.
“Requiring an applicant to secure an NBI and police clearances would just add up to the red tape,” said the congressman, and it would be counter-productive to the public transport sector.
Treñas said the Land Transportation Office should revive instead the previous practice of requiring professional driver’s license holders to undergo a drug test. “More than anything else, I want our drivers to be free from illegal drugs use,” he said.
The NBI and police clearances would deprive past law offenders, who have been convicted but were already transformed or changed, from finding a driving job, said the congressman.
Treñas also weighed in on the cost of getting NBI and police clearances. “We should also consider that most of the professional driver’s license holders have barely enough money to spare in applying or renewing their license. So, it would be an additional burden on their part if we require them to get clearances from the NBI and police.”
The requirements of these clearances would further create unnecessary hassle to line for an NBI clearance, he said.
For an applicant to get a police clearance, he or she must also secure first a barangay and court clearance, said Treñas, who also believed that these new LTO rules on securing licenses was not extensively studied before being implemented.
To counter such move, Treñas said he already talked to Representative Cesar Sarmiento of the lone district of Catanduanes and chairman of the House committee on transportation. He said they will call the attention of the LTO and the Department of Transportation and Communication over the new ruling that took effect last November 9.
“If they would not suspend it, we would move for a legislation or resolution to scrap such requirement,” said Treñas.
On September 22, 2015, LTO issued Administrative Order AVT-2015-029 (Revised Rules and Regulations Governing the Issuance of Professional Driver’s Licenses and Conductor’s Licenses), requiring applicants to present NBI and police clearances, with official receipts, on top of the usual medical clearance.
LTO had justified that the clearances were needed to prove that the applicant was never convicted of any offense or reckless driving before.
Professional driver-applicants, who have accrued two or more citations for reckless driving in any given license validity period, shall also be disqualified, but those who were not cited from any traffic violation during the three-year period can renew their licenses for a five-year validity period. (FREEMAN)