02/08/2026
Republic of Bacoor. Next time we need a passport to enter. 😁
I'm not a lawyer, so could someone please explain this to me like I'm in 8th grade.
A driver's license is issued by the national government, the LTO. Not by any city. You can not revoke something you didn’t issue.
There's a national law, RA 4136, that says only the LTO and people the LTO officially deputizes can take that license away.
A city ordinance cannot create a power that a national law has reserved only for the LTO.
Yesterday, July 31, the LTO itself said LGU traffic enforcers have no legal basis to confiscate licenses. They can only issue tickets.
The Supreme Court ruling Bacoor is citing applies only to Metro Manila. While factually correct, it’s a moot point because it does not automatically give cities outside Metro Manila the power to take a national driver's license.
With all that said, I have a few simple questions for the City Government of Bacoor, and I ask these in good faith:
1. Are your traffic enforcers currently deputized by the LTO?
2. If yes, can you show the public the deputation papers or mission orders?
3. If no, then under what national law are you allowed to confiscate a nationally issued driver's license?
4. When the LTO says LGUs cannot confiscate licenses, does that statement somehow not apply to Bacoor?
5. Even if your enforcers were deputized, are you aware that DOTr Memorandum Circular 001-2026 currently suspends license confiscation nationwide, even for deputized officers? So under what authority is any confiscation happening right now, deputized or not?
I'm not attacking.I just want to genuinely understand the actual legal basis, because a lot of people drive through Bacoor every day and this affects them.
I look forward to a healthy discussion about the legalities so that we may all abide by the law.
