LTO suspends Tarlac, Lucena driving schools

Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II on Sunday warned driving schools and accredited medical clinics catering to clients of the agency to refrain from engaging in illegal activities that would compromise road safety.

This comes following the suspension of operation of two driving schools based in Tarlac and Quezon province for 30 days for alleged involvement in the fraudulent issuance of Theoretical Driving Course (TDC) and Practical Driving Course (PDC) certificates.

Mendoza earlier ordered a thorough investigation into the fraudulent issuance of TDC and PDC certificates after being tipped off about the illegal practices of some erring driving schools.

He also expanded his order to include accredited medical clinics of the LTO over a separate report of the fraudulent issuance of medical certificates.

“This is part of our aggressive campaign against fixers. We cannot allow these illegal practices to happen because what is at stake are the safety of road users,” Mendoza said.

LTO-Intelligence and Investigation Division chief Renante Melitante said they immediately deployed poseur clients in compliance with the order of Mendoza which targets at least two driving schools that were tipped to be involved in the fraudulent activity.

In his report, Melitante said their poseur client at the MCSY Driving School based in San Sebastian, Tarlac was able to secure a TDC despite non-appearance through the help of one of the instructors.

Meanwhile, the poseur client at the I-Summit Driving Academy based in Lucena City in Quezon province was also able to secure a PDC despite non-completion of the required hours and despite non-appearance in the mandated road safety seminar.

“We already issued a show cause order to these two driving schools to demand their explanation why they should not be punished for violating the provisions of the accreditation given to them,” Mendoza said.

“Both the driving schools were also suspended for 30 days pending the result of the ongoing investigation,” he added.

Mendoza stressed that the aggressive campaign against errant driving schools is part of the instruction of Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista to ensure that only qualified people are given the driver’s license, as part of his advocacy for road safety.

The TDC and the PDC are the major requirements for the issuance of a driver’s license.

“This action should serve as a stern warning against driving schools and accredited medical clinics to do what is right. Otherwise, we will not hesitate to cancel their operation and revoke their accreditation because what is at stake here are the life and limb of all road users,” Mendoza said.

He added that more operations and investigations will be conducted against erring driving schools and medical clinics based on the information that the LTO has.