The question of who has the authority to confiscate a driver’s license has long been addressed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO). But the issue has resurfaced after reports online claimed that traffic enforcers in Bacoor City, Cavite, continue to confiscate the licenses of motorists who violate local traffic ordinances.

What Bacoor says

In a statement, the City Government of Bacoor said its traffic enforcers remain authorized to confiscate driver’s licenses under Section 23 of City Ordinance No. 11-2019, or the Revised Traffic Code of Bacoor.

The city also argued that the recent Supreme Court ruling applies only to local government units (LGUs) within Metro Manila under the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Since Bacoor is outside Metro Manila, it maintains that it may continue exercising its authority under the Local Government Code and its own traffic ordinances.

Image for illustration purposes only. | Photo by Autoindustriya.com

What the DILG says

In 2008, the agency, together with the then Department of Transportation (DOTr, then DOTC), issued Joint Memorandum Circular No. 01, directing LGUs to align their traffic ordinances with national laws and policies.

Section 3.4 of the circular says “The LGUs can issue traffic citation tickets, but only the LTO and their deputized agents can confiscate driver's licenses.”

Simply put, cities and municipalities may apprehend motorists and issue traffic tickets, but the authority to confiscate a driver’s license belongs to the LTO and its deputized enforcers.

The DILG repeated that position in 2022, through a memorandum titled “Reiteration of Pertinent Provisions on Road Safety and Transportation,” reminding LGUs to comply with the 2008 Joint Memorandum Circular. It again stated that while LGUs may issue traffic tickets, only the LTO and its deputized agents may confiscate driver’s licenses.

What the LTO says

The LTO has also remained consistent on the issue, and has repeatedly said that only the LTO and its deputized law enforcers have the authority under existing laws to confiscate driver’s licenses. After all, the LTO is the government agency that issues driver’s licenses and administers the country’s driver licensing system.

In 2022, the LTO welcomed the DILG’s clarification, saying it solidified the agency’s long-standing position that the authority to confiscate a driver’s license belongs only to the LTO and its deputized agents.

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao said that only the LTO is authorized to confiscate, suspend, or revoke driver’s licenses, and what the LGU is doing is against the rules.

What about the driver/rider?

For motorists, especially those simply passing through Bacoor, the conflicting positions create uncertainty. A driver whose license is confiscated by the city receives a traffic citation ticket in its place, but that document is recognized only within Bacoor. Once outside the city, these motorists will be technically “driving without a license,” and may find themselves in a difficult position if another traffic enforcer asks them to present their driver’s license. 

Until the issue is settled once and for all, drivers are left caught between a city’s local ordinance and the long-standing position of the DILG and the LTO.