Transcript of Sen. Grace Poe's Opening Statement
Public hearing on extending the validity of driver's licenses

Magandang araw po sa inyong lahat.

Today we will tackle three bills with a common, and if I may add, popular, proposal: To extend the period of validity of the motor vehicle driver's license from the present three years to five years.

I would like to commend the proponents - Senators Recto, Ejercito and Gordon.

In his bill, Senator Gordon even proposes a ten-year validity period if the license holder did not commit a violation during the first five years. It is some sort of a rewards program for good driving behavior.

For the record, the idea for a driver's license first bounced around in motoring forums or fora, after which it gained support in the legislature.

While the advocates' reasons were cogent and convincing, it did not attract support from the executive branch, which was sad because merely tweaking the expiry date would have provided immense relief to drivers who have to go through the hassles of renewing their licenses every 1,000 days.

Frankly, the call for a driver's license with a longer validity period would not have gained traction if applying for one was a breeze, and if it was readily available.

Unfortunately, both took time securing it in the recent past. Like car plates, which take ages to arrive, getting hold of licenses involves a long wait as well.

Amid these delays, the irony is hard to miss. While it takes Koreans and the Japanese just days to assemble a one-ton car, it takes Filipinos years to hammer a half-pound tin into a car plate.

We are also a country which churns out car bumper stickers by the billions of yards during elections, distributed by candidates for free. And yet it takes our government years to provide each car with a 3- by 4-inch windshield sticker which has, let me stress, been paid for by the car owner in advance.

How can we progress if our neighbors are already sending rockets into space, or hurling them across the ocean, and here we are still grappling with rackets in car plates, licenses and stickers?

Extending the validity of the driver's license is a long commonsensical idea which should have been done a long time ago. It does not involve rocket science.

Kaya nga ako'y natutuwa na ang pamahalaang ito ay sang-ayon sa panukala na habaan ang bisa ng driver's license.

It is the right thing to do. It is an anti-red tape app that will not cost a cent to implement. It will save all the drivers in this land millions of man-hours otherwise spent in queuing to get the permit to operate a motor vehicle.

This is, in the words of one sponsor, Senator Recto, a pretty straightforward measure. So referring it to the plenary is a foregone conclusion. And its approval, I can say with certainty, is a done deal.

While we commend the executive branch for initiating the steps that will pilot the issuance of a five-year license, it is my position that it still needs an enabling act.

The need for the latter, let me clarify, does not inhibit the LTO from proceeding with the project. The absence of a law does not restrain it from obeying Malacanang's order either.

Still, the proper thing to do is to pass a law amending the validity period of a driver's license. Para kahit ibang administrasyon, batas pa rin yan. The same remedial approach is being applied in the case of the proposed ten-year passport.

What Congress prescribes, only Congress can amend.

Now that all the persons in authority are in this room, let me take this opportunity to elicit from them other information related to driver's licenses, the status of the initial rollout of the 5-year driver's license, as well as the national pet peeve of every vehicle owner - the delay in the delivery of car plates.

Tatanungin ko rin, yung mga exam ba sa pagkuha ng lisensya, mas klaro na o nakadikit pa rin sa dingding ang sagot sa exam? Unang una, ano ba ang outstanding backlog sa lisensya? Gaano ba katagal ang hintayan - while you wait, or isang taon, or three years, which is one congressional term, or baka six years, which is equivalent to one presidential term?

Pangalawa, ay ang security features ng mga lisensya. Dahil sa delay, it is an open secret na cottage industry daw na ang pag-gawa ng pekeng lisensya. Kung may alternative facts sa reporting, may fake licenses daw sa motoring.

But more than bogus licenses is the danger wrought upon by persons who are unqualified to drive a car.

For example, is there a tripwire system that will catch a driver with multiple violations from applying for a new license by using a fictitious name?

Isa pa, and I am personally curious about this, ito bang bar code na ito pag ini-scan lalabas ba ang history of traffic violations, including unpaid fines? Anong ginagawa ng barcode na ito?

In this era of the pervasive and permeating social media, I can Google a person's name, and from his online posts and presence , I can cobble together a profile of his, including his likes, hobbies, kung saan s'ya mahilig pumunta, anong gusto nyang pagkain, picture ng kanyang aso, at favorite NBA team.

Ito bang lisensyang ito, pag na-swipe, or idinaan sa barcode reader, or ininput ang license number, lalabas ba ang readout ng kanyang history of driving infractions?

If you're caught abruptly swerving on the road, can the apprehending traffic policeman right there and then scan your license using, say, a tablet, or call someone, a data center perhaps, to inquire if you have unsettled prior violations?

Kasi ang ideal driver's license hindi lang one-time permit to operate a car, but should be an updated record of the driver, which can be retrieved easily by authorized persons.

Kung walang ganyang capability, paano malalaman ng ating mga pulis, na itong si bus driver ay sinkwenta pala ang violations na?

Having said this, we shall now commence our public hearing. I would like to acknowledge the presence of our resource persons.