What is the Penalty For Underage Driving in the Philippines?

Here in the Philippines, securing a driver's license is one of the most tedious jobs ever. Other than the fact that thousands of people flock regional and central Land Transportation (LTO) offices nationwide, having to wait for a driver's license either non-professional or professional can be worthwhile.

This is why minors or people who are under the legal age choose to misrepresent their age to be at least eighteen (18) years old when they were first issued a driver's license.

Read: Guidelines for Advance Renewal of Driver’s License

What is the legal age of having a driver's license in the Philippines?

As per the guidelines from the Land Transportation Office (LTO), an individual can apply for a non-professional and professional driver's license would require the applicant to be at least eighteen (18) years old upon application.

However, before an applicant can apply or either a non-professional or a professional driver's license, the applicant first needs to secure a student's permit from the LTO. The student's permit, on the other hand, requires the applicant to be at least seventeen (17) years old. 

What penalties are involved if an individual gets caught for underage driving?

There are certain scenarios as to how the LTO handles unruly behavior in securing a driver's license. This entails underage driving should a driver be caught driving without a legitimate valid driver's license.

Read: LTO Fees For New License, Student Permits, Etc.

If a licensed driver is found to misrepresent his or her age but is now of age and qualified to have a legitimate and valid driver's license.

The licensee will be required and asked to surrender the previously-issued license for its cancellation. Information will be the same when the licensee submits both a written appeal plus a payment of Five Thousand Pesos only (P5,000.00). In addition to that, other fees for records revision.

Read: How Can You Verify a Plate Number Through the LTO?

Procedure

• The Licensing Center and/or District Office will forward the request to the license section or central office together with the written appeal with the Official Receipt (O.R.) of the payment; this is of course if the misinterpretation was discovered and the previous license was cancelled by the Central Office.
• Upon the receipt of the written appeal and the O.R. of the license section, they shall restore the canceled driver's license by making necessary adjustments of the first year of issuance of the driver's license to make it appear that the applicant was at least eighteen (18) years old when the licensee was first (1st) issued a driver's license.
• If the misinterpretation was discovered at the agency level, the licensing center and/or the licensing center will collect corresponding fees and prepare, forward, and complete the Request for Systems Update (RSU), the written appeal, and the Official Report (O.R.), and the payment of the fine (P5,000.00) to the licensing section of the central office to adjust the first (1st) year of issuance of the license.
• The license section shall inform the requesting agency of the restored driver's license for the release to the licensee.

One (1) year cancellation of the driver's license

If the licensee decides to go with the one (1) year driver's license cancellation, the licensee should surrender the Temporary Driver's License to the head of the licensing center or the district office . The licensee will then be barred from applying for a new driver's license for a time frame of one (1) year from the time the driver's license was surrendered.

Read: Magna Carta For Commuters Pushed in House

• The head of the district office or the licensing center shall confiscate the temporary driver's license, prepares the RSU and informing the license section of the central office of the confiscated license.
• They will then forward the physical documents to the license section in fifteen (15) days from the confiscation.
• The license section will have a keen eye on the cancelled driver's license and the suspension shall be reckoned from the confiscation date was effective om the district office or licensing center from the time the license section received the surrender or confiscated driver's license.
• In this case, the licensee will be given the chance to apply for a student's permit one (1) year after the cancellation of his or her driver's license.
• Should the licensee choose to have immediate restoration of his or her license, he or she has the option to pay the fine of Five Thousand Pesos only (P5,000.00).

Read: LTO Released the New Guidelines in Getting a Driver’s License

If a driver voluntarily requests for the correction o records due to age representation, procedures one (1) and two (2) would still be effective; and; a driver with a driver's license whose license was cancelled due to underage driving before the promulgation of circular no. AHS-2008-1072.

Which circumstances are exempted?

This does not apply to a driver found to be underage based on the year o the issuance without tampering with the birth date. When the license section receives the written appeal and the official receipt (O.R.), the license section shall restore the cancelled driver's license and modify it so that the applicant was at least eighteen (18) years old when they were first (1st) issued a driver's license.

Should a driver be caught doing underage driving, these are the penalties that go along with it. Not just these, it is also going to have different results which are caused by underage driving.

Source/s: LTO Website