LTO extends validity of expiring driver's license for 2 months

The Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) customer services portal is back online on Friday after being down to give way to an emergency maintenance.

The agency also said it has extended for two months the validity of Student Permit, Driver’s License, Conductor’s License, as well as Medical Certificate which will originally expire in January, February, and March.

The extension of validity of the licenses was done as part of measures to ease the burden of the public amid the continuous rise in COVID-19 cases in the country.

In a public advisory posted on its Facebook page, the LTO said it conducted an emergency maintenance of the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) on January 6, 2022 to improve the services for those using the online portal.

The LTMS is a platform where the public can do their transactions with the agency online.

“Online nang muli ang LTMS ngayong araw, 7 Enero 2022, para sa pagproseso ng mga transakyon,” the LTO said.

(The LTMS is back online today, January 7, 2022, to process transactions.)

Senator Grace Poe, in a statement, called on the LTO to ensure that its online portal for driver's license application and renewal is easily accessible.

“At a time when we try to avoid face-to-face transactions due to COVID-19, our people are expected to rely on online transactions as the safer, faster and more efficient means,” Poe said.

“Being denied access to the LTO's online service is totally unacceptable,” she added.

The senator said that reports have reached her office that a number of drivers seeking to renew license or apply for a new one are encountering difficulties in getting through the LTMS.

“Government portals should be exemplars of reliability.  They could not be down when people need their services,” Poe said.

LTO has begun issuing 10-year valid driver’s licenses late last year for holders who have not committed violations.

The longer validity of driver's license is contained in Republic Act No. 10930, which amended the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.

Under the new law, motorists with traffic violations will only get licenses with five-year validity upon renewal.—LDF, GMA News