Holding a 5-year or 10-year Philippine driver's license will no longer require regular medical examinations.

On April 16, local time, the Philippine Land Transport Agency (LTO) announced that holders of driving licenses valid for 5 and 10 years will no longer need regular medical examinations.

Director of the Land Transport Department (LTO) Jose Arturo "Jay Art" Tugade ordered the requirement to be lifted to ease the burden on motorists.

According to previous regulations, the authorities will provide drivers with good records with a license valid for five or ten years, but they must submit medical examination reports in the third year (five-year license) and the fourth and seventh years (ten-year license) respectively.

Tu Jiade said that this move is only a cost of people and money, especially there is no empirical data showing that regular medical examinations can prevent road traffic accidents.

However, according to the Land Transport Department Memorandum No. 2021-2285, the mandatory medical examination is still a requirement for applying for or renewing a driving licence.

"For those people who will be valid for five or ten years, they only need to have a medical examination 60 days before the specified update date," Tujiade said."

As for Filipinos working or living abroad, the Land Transport Agency stated that they must undergo a medical examination within 30 days after arriving in the Philippines before they can be allowed to drive.

The head of the Land Transport Department said: "We believe this will reduce the burden on our drivers. In addition to avoiding the cost of regular medical examinations, drivers can also spend more time on work. It depends on whether individuals are willing to undergo medical examinations."