Driver’s licenses from BARMM now recognized outside of region

COTABATO CITY — Drivers' licenses issued by the Bangsamoro regional government are now being recognized outside the region.

Residents of the Bangsamoro provinces were elated over this development as it is a problem that hounded them for a long time.

Bangsamoro Transportation Minister Paisalin Tago and officials of the regional police announced on Friday that the issue had been resolved together by the central office of the Department of Transportation and the regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Media outfits in the region received on Friday a document dated Sept. 19, 2023 and signed by DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista that outlined the parameters, crafted together by the Land Transportation Office under him and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, in recognizing the validity of driver’s licenses issued by the LTO-BARMM outside of the autonomous region.

The document also covered vehicle registration papers from LTO-BARMM, operating under the supervision of the lawyer and public accountant Tago, who is also a member, in concurrent capacity, of the 80-seat Bangsamoro regional parliament.

Functions and powers of the LTO were devolved to the Bangsamoro region based on its now four-year charter, the Republic Act 11054, also known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

Many residents of BARMM had complained to radio stations in the region about having had problems with law enforcement agents in towns and cities outside of the autonomous region who had refused to recognize their driver’s licenses and vehicle registration documents from LTO-BARMM.

Even banks in the region and money remittance outfits had, in many instances, declined transactions where supposed clients, who do not have national identification cards yet, had used driver’s licenses as proof of their identities.

“That has been addressed through consultations and dialogues between us and the national officials of the DOTr and LTO,” Tago said.

Tago told reporters that the LTO-BARMM shall initiate extensive coordination with officials of the  police’s Highway Patrol Group in provinces and cities outside of the autonomous region for them to get clarified on the issue.