MANILA - The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Wednesday said it would impose from April 15 a cap on the rates for theoretical and practical driving courses, after the fees were criticized as "anti-poor."

The maximum prescribed rate for theoretical driving courses in accredited schools will be P1,000, LTO chief Jay Art Tugade said. Fees for practical driving courses, meanwhile, would range from P2,500 to P4,000, "depending on the license code," he said.

• LTO to release order on cap for driving school fees amid 'anti-poor' license process

Tugade earlier said fees in some driving schools have reached up to P20,000.

“Since last year, the agency’s technical working group held a series of meetings and consultations with the different driving schools’ associations and stakeholders which led to the prescribed maximum rates that we are going to implement,” said Tugade.

“The rates were computed to make sure that driving institutions still get a fair return of investments and at the same time make it affordable to the public,” he added.

Under the new guidelines, accredited driving institutions will also be tasked to conduct the mandatory 15-hour theoretical driving course in 2 days. The first 7 hours will be held during the first day, while the other 8 hours will be conducted on the second day, the LTO said.

On the other hand, practical lessons, which must be held for at least 2 days, "shall not be less than 8 hours per driver’s license code applied for."

This is different for motorcycles.

"[The eight-hour] PDC for motorcycles may be conducted in one day, provided that the student-driver has proven to have already acquired the knowledge based on the assessment by a practical driving instructor,” the LTO said.

• Bayad sa driving schools pinag-aaralang i-standardize ng LTO
• 'Anti-poor': Lawmaker seeks probe on hefty driver's license fees

Once the student driver completes the course and passes the final exam for the practical and theoretical courses, a Certificate of Course Completion will be released to the applicant.

This will be transmitted electronically to the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) real time, said the agency.

Last month, Pampanga 4th District Rep. Anna York Bondoc alleged one would need around P9,000 to P15,000 to get a non-professional driver's license, which she described as "anti-poor" and "very expensive."

Watch more News on iWantTFC