Rowegie Abanto

Traffic builds up along EDSA in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

Traffic builds up along EDSA in Quezon City on March 3, 2022, as Metro Manila eased into alert level 1. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176794555828320220303-edsa-traffic-level1-1MD_1701-MD.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Traffic builds up along EDSA in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</div>MANILA (UPDATED) — The Department of Transportation on Friday said it has suspended the confiscation of driver&#x27;s license involving traffic violations and has also placed the policy under review.In a statement, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said he has instructed the Land Transportation Office &quot;to immediately suspend the confiscation of driver’s license in apprehension cases involving traffic violations.&quot;Lopez said the move aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.&#x27;s directive to &quot;streamline and clarify procedures in apprehending erring motorists whose driver’s licenses have been confiscated.&quot;In a memorandum issued on January 9 that takes effect &quot;immediately,&quot; Lopez ordered the LTO to revisit issuances to ensure consistency across the government&#x27;s existing policies.<div> </div><div>NEW PERIOD FOR SETTLING CASES, VIOLATORS &#x27;UNDER ALERT&#x27;</div>The guidelines for settling traffic apprehension cases have also been amended by the transport chief by changing the period from 15 calendar days to 15 working days.This allows &quot;both the government and the public sufficient time to resolve cases,&quot; he said in the news release.&quot;Ibig sabihin po nito, hindi kasama ‘yung mga holiday at long weekend sa bilang ng araw kapag magse-settle ng violation ‘yung driver,&quot; Lopez said.While the confiscation of driver&#x27;s licenses is suspended, Lopez said the LTO is directed to immediately place the violator&#x27;s license &quot;under alert.&quot;The agency is also ordered to enforce the automatic suspension or revocation of the license should the driver fail to settle the case within 15 working days.<div>WHAT TRIGGERED THE  SUSPENSION?</div>The suspension of the policy and its review followed the LTO&#x27;s controversial handling of the traffic violation of the 19-year-old son of road safety advocate and vlogger James Deakin.Deakin previously said his son committed a &quot;simple&quot; traffic violation on the Skyway Stage 3 on Dec. 18, 2025, but the LTO said the infraction amounted to &quot;reckless driving.&quot;Deakin also reported that they faced another hurdle when trying to retrieve his son&#x27;s driver’s license, saying the first time they went to the LTO was the Saturday after Christmas, when the agency was supposedly open.But the office specifically in charge of license retrieval was closed, he said, so they were asked to just return on January 5, 2026, or after the holidays.Come January 5, Deakin&#x27;s son was able to pay the P2,000 fine, but they were told that they missed the 15-day deadline to process the violation since even holidays and weekends are included in the count.As a result, his son’s driver’s license was suspended for a month.<div>LOPEZ APOLOGIZES TO DEAKIN</div>In a statement on Friday, Deakin lauded the transportation department&#x27;s move and said Lopez called him Wednesday night &quot;not to deflect. Not to defend. But to apologize.&quot;&quot;Not gonna lie: this week has been tough. Not so much for me (this ain’t my first rodeo) but for my son, who never deserved this,&quot; he said in a Facebook post.&quot;This, my friends, is what good public service looks like. Not press conferences shaming citizens. Not impossible deadlines or arbitrary enforcement. But truly listening to your constituents and maintaining accountability, while using power to fix broken systems instead of protecting them.&quot; — With a report from  Andrea Taguines, ABS-CBN News

The Department of Transportation on Friday said it has suspended the confiscation of driver's license involving traffic violations and has also placed the policy under review.

The Department of Transportation on Friday said it has suspended the confiscation of driver's license involving traffic violations and has also placed the policy under review.

DOTr suspends confiscation of driver's license over traffic violations

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DOTr suspends confiscation of driver's license over traffic violations

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 09, 2026 04:08 PM PHT

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Updated January 09, 2026 04:31 PM PHT

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