ILOILO City – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) Region 6 is calling motor vehicle drivers to abide by the traffic rules and regulations mandated in Republic Act (RA) 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.
Every traffic violation committed has corresponding demerit points, which, if they accumulate, result in a mandatory Driver’s Reorientation Course (DRC) or possible suspension of the driver’s license.
Riza Otayde, LTO-6 spokesperson, said this is specified in RA 10930, or An act rationalizing and strengthening the policy regarding driver’s license by extending the validity period of driver’s licenses and penalizing acts in violation of their issuance and application.
If a motorist accumulates nine demerit points, he has to undergo four hours of DRC at the LTO-6 office for the Panay area and in Bacolod City for Negros-based motorists.
For 10 and above demerit points, the motorist has to undergo four hours of DRC and retake the theoretical examination.
A motorist who failed the theoretical examination could still retake it but with a P100 fee.
For 40 demerit points and above, the driver’s license will be revoked for at least two years with four hours of DRC.
Otayde said motorists should take the DRC to lift the alarm system that appears once LTO personnel open up their records while renewing their driver’s licenses. LTO’s alarm system automatically appears if a motorist has committed a violation but has not attended a DRC afterward.
Here, motorists who committed violations are urged to visit the LTO-6 office as soon as possible to schedule their DRC. The LTO-6 conducts the reorientation course every Monday.
“Kadto lang kamo diri kay indi ina ma-lift ang alarm system kon indi ninyo pag-atenan ang reorientation course. Kon mag-accumulate ang tanan nga demerit points kag maglab-ot sa 40 points, may possibility ma-revoke ang driver’s license. So, may ara kami cases nga damo demerit points, ma-suspend ikaw for two years, indi ikaw maka-drive kay suspended ang imo driver’s license,” said Otayde.
The DRC is a refresher course highlighting the provisions of RA 4136.
“Refresher sa ila sang duties and responsibilities sang drivers and gina-highlight ang traffic law and rules kay ti nga-a naka-violate kamo sina kay gin-introduce man sa inyo sang nag-acquire kamo sang driver’s license. We need to remind them para ma-avoid ang apprehension,” explained Otayde.
Under the implementing rules and regulations of RA 10930, here are the corresponding demerit points for every traffic violation:
* Grave Violation – five demerit points for violations of colorum, driving a motor vehicle used in committing a crime, and driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
* Less Grave Violation – three points for violating the second offense of Section 3 of RA 10666 or the Children’s Safety on Motorcycles Act of 2015, a second offense of Section 4, RA 10931 (Anti-Distracted Driving Act), and Obstruction.
* All other violations not otherwise enumerated as grave or less grave, which shall be considered as light, shall receive one point for violation of failure to wear the prescribed seat belt (first offense), failure to carry a driver’s license, or LTO Official Receipt (OR) or Certificate of Registration (CR) while driving, and overtaking on “men working” or “caution” signs.
Motorists without traffic violations could avail themselves of a 10-year validity of their driver’s license; violators will be given a five-year validity.
A motorist who has committed a violation is only qualified to avail of the 10-year validity of his driver’s license if he attends the DRC.
“Sa span sang five year kon wala violation, sa next renewal mo maka-avail ka na sang 10 years validity,” Otayde said. “Gina-remind namon kamo nga likawan ang pag-violate sang laye para nga makalikaw sa pagkadto diri sa LTO para mag-attend sang five or four hours nga drivers re-orientation para smooth kag deretso ang pag-renew sang driver’s license.”/PN
