Photo taken during the TDC Seminar in Valencia, Bohol last October 19 and 20, 2022.| Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Two years after the program’s introduction in the region, the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) reported that 20,000 scholars had already benefited from its free Theoretical Driving Course (TDC).
In a statement, LTO-7 said the majority of the scholars were from the regional agency’s program on Malasakit on Wheels- e-Patrol Mobile Service.
The agency started offering free TDC courses in October 2020 to qualified individuals through the Driver’s Education Center (DEC), located at Malasakit Office along N. Bacalso Ave. in Cebu City.
From only having 50 scholars during its first month of implementation, the program has been availed by more individuals when the agency started partnering with the various local government units down to the barangays.
Based on the LTO-7 data as of October 21, the agency has already issued a total of 20,020 TDC certificates regionwide.
LTO-7 Director Victor Emmanuel Caindec said that the agency’s Malasakit on Wheels- e-Patrol Mobile Service Program was essential to this achievement as they were able to reach and offer the program to far-flung and geographically isolated areas in the region.
Recently, the LTO 7 allocated about 500 slots to Valencia in Bohol for their TDC seminar last Oct. 19 and 20, while earlier this month, 141 scholars from Cogon Pardo in Cebu City received their TDC certificates.
“Again, owning a driver’s license is never a right; it is a privilege. Those, who want to get it, must be worthy and deserving. TDC is one step only and it is aimed at educating our future license owners on the basics of road safety and traffic rules,” Caindec said.
Meanwhile, the LTO-7 also noted a 172 percent increase in the number of scholarships distributed from January to October 2022 compared to the entire 2021.
During the first 10 months of 2022, LTO-7 was already able to issue 14,574 TDC certificates. In 2021, the agency was only able to release 5,342 TDC certificates.
Caindec then thanked the LGUs for helping the LTO-7 in ensuring that the program would reach the grassroots level; this, as he admitted that the agency also had a limited number of certified TDC lecturers.
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