Metro Manila bus, truck drivers required to take road safety course starting May

March 5, 2025 | 2:30pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is requiring bus and truck drivers in Metro Manila to undergo road safety training as part of a trial run, with courses reaching up to P2,000. 

In a phone interview with Philstar.com, LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III said the trial run will begin in Metro Manila in May and will last three to four months.

“If everything has been threshed out, then we would go to the other key areas like Cebu and Davao. Then if it is okay, then it will be all over the Philippines but limited only on the first year, to trucks and buses,” Guadiz said in a mix of English and Filipino. 

Guadiz said that jeeps will also be included in the second year of implementation. By 2026, jeeps and UV from Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao will be required to take the safety course. It will also gradually expand to cover other public utility vehicles (PUV). 

In a separate statement from the LTFRB, the agency explained that after jeeps, the final phase of the required safety training will be for motorcycle taxis and transport network vehicle service. 

Once everything runs smoothly in the trial run, Guadiz said that it will be implemented fully nationwide.  

The two-day road safety program will be done in three parts, according to Guadiz. The first part will have a road safety lecture, followed by a psychological exam and then the basics of first aid and life support during accidents. Drivers who complete the course will be awarded a certificate of completion. 

The LTFRB said the recommended price tag for the courses is P2,000 per motorist in driving schools. 

However, Guadiz stressed that it was merely the recommended price and that transport cooperatives and companies can choose to have their own training — as long as the teachers are accredited by the LTFRB. Transport companies who also opt to have their own training must have their own psychologist to assess the drivers as well. 

The LTFRB chair attributed these accidents to a lack of adaptation to road safety standards, as well as engine failure. Training the drivers again will curb these accidents, Guadiz said. 

“These drivers are handling lives of people every day. If you notice, there are more and more accidents,” Guadiz said. 

Once the program is running, the LTFRB said that it will employ a means of monitoring system to ensure compliance. Operators will be mandated to only hire PUV drivers who have passed this road safety training. 

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