THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) has suspended the confiscation of the licenses of apprehended motorists for traffic violations for the next 15 days.
In a statement, the DOTr said Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez issued the order effective immediately to the Land Transportation Office (LTO), instructing the agency to streamline and clarify procedures in apprehending erring motorists whose driver’s licenses have been confiscated.
“In a memorandum issued on January 9, Secretary Lopez ordered the LTO to suspend the confiscation of licenses of apprehended drivers and revisit all pertinent issuances to ensure consistency across all existing policies,” the DOTr said.
Lopez also amended the guidelines for settling traffic apprehension cases by changing the lead time from 15 calendar days to 15 working days, “to afford both the government and the public sufficient time to resolve cases.”
This means official holidays and long weekends are no longer included in the number of days for a traffic violation to be settled.
While the confiscation of driver’s licenses is suspended, the LTO is directed to immediately place the violator’s driver’s license under alert and strictly enforce the automatic suspension or revocation of the license should the driver fail to settle the case within 15 working days.
The DOTr issued the order in light of the issue raised by automotive vlogger James Deakin following the apprehension of his son over a traffic violation.
Deakin’s son was apprehended for a lane violation on the Skyway on December 18, 2025.
When they tried to settle the violation and retrieve his son’s license on January 5, they were told that they failed to comply with the 15-day deadline, which meant the license was already suspended for a month.
Deakin argued that government agencies were closed over the past eight days due to the holidays.
“The main issue was the 15-day deadline that included the eight or nine days the LTO was closed, as well as the demands for unnecessary paperwork that is not in the Citizens Charter. Those are the questions that people wanted answers to,” he said in a Facebook post. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)