THE Land Transportation Office-Davao Region (LTO-Davao) continues to expand its outreach caravans to barangays and schools across Davao Region, bringing essential transport services directly to residents who often face challenges in accessing district offices.
Through its Barangay Outreach & Support Services (Boss) Project, LTO-Davao reached 252 barangays in 2025, providing 32,868 free theoretical driving course seminars (TDCs) and issuing 30,174 student permits.
Oscar Don A. Zamora, Head of the Davao City North District Office, said the initiative ensures that residents can complete the required TDC and immediately apply for student permits without incurring costs or traveling far.
“Kining Theoretical Driving Course, this is free, muadto mi og barangay with no fee na sa mga tao. At least dili na sila muadto sa district nato to apply for a student permit or to renew their driver’s license, kami na ang muadto sailaha,” Zamora emphasized.
(This Theoretical Driving Course is free. We go to the barangays so people don’t need to come to our district office; we bring the services to them.)
The agency also facilitated 1,766 driver’s license renewals and 4,573 motor vehicle registrations in barangays, addressing the issue of unregistered motorcycles commonly used in rural areas.
In schools, the Safe Project (Strengthening Advocacy for Future Educators and Drivers) has reached 58 campuses, targeting senior high school and college students. Services include free TDCs, student permit issuance, license renewals, and vehicle registrations.
In 2025 alone, the project delivered 5,858 TDCs, 5,000 student permits, and facilitated 124 license renewals and 252 registrations.
Beyond regular services, LTO-Davao also extends support to marginalized groups through the Pasada Project (Promoting Accessible and Sustainable Assistance for Drivers Advancement). Outreach programs have catered to ex-convicts and tricycle drivers’ associations (Toda), providing education, TDCs, and permits to help them sustain livelihoods through driving.
The project recorded 4,631 TDCs, 4,384 student permits, 155 license renewals, and 182 registrations.
By offering free TDCs — normally costing around P1,000 in a private driving school-program allows Dabawenyos to save money while gaining access to legal and safe driving opportunities.
“Kini man gung muadto ta’g barangay ang ilang mga motor vehicle ana, diha na na sila mag tuyok-tuyok dili na na sila muadto’g syudad para mubaba. So most likely, daghan kaayo og mga motorcycle nga wala gyud na-rehistro. So mao na ang program sa LTO karon nga kami gyud ang muadto para mahatagan silag services to renew their motorcyle,” Zamora said.
(When we visit the barangays, we notice that people just use their motorcycles to go around the area and don’t really head down to the city. Because of that, there are many motorcycles that are completely unregistered. That’s why the LTO has this program now, where we go to them personally to provide the services they need to renew their motorcycle registrations.)
Zamora also said that for 2026, LTO-Davao aims to double the number of barangays and schools visited, further strengthening access to safe and legal transport services. PIA DAVAO