Driver's License exam to be translated in different Philippine languages

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation ordered the Land Transportation Office to prepare the Driver's License Examination in English, Filipino and other Philippine languages in order to make the process more accessible to the entire Filipino population.

"The written examination for the driver's license should not be limited to two languages — English and Filipino. What if they will conduct the test in Visayas and in Mindanao, and those poor countrymen of mine cannot understand Tagalog and cannot fully understand English?" Transportation Secretary Arthur was quoted as saying in a Tuesday release.

More than a hundred languages are spoken in the Philippines by different ethnolinguistic groups.

Major languages listed by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts are Ilocano, Pangasinan, Pampango, Tagalog, Bicol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray-Samarnon.

Regional directors of the LTO must provide a translation of the driver's license exam in their respective local languages within 30 days from the effectivity of the department order issued on February 14.

The department order will take effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

“[I]n the interest of justice and for the effective enforcement of land transportation laws, the DOTr recognizes the need to afford examinees the opportunity to fully comprehend the Driver’s License Examination,” the order reads.

Meanwhile, LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante said the agency has since begun the process of translating the exam.

“We have already created a team for each of the major dialects. The assigned team will translate the driver’s license examination,” he said.

“The translation will be checked by experts of the language to ensure that the terms are accurate and official.”