Earlier this week, social media was abuzz over yet another traffic-related issue. This time, it involved transport blogger, James Deakin, and the LTO. More specifically, the issue revolves around his son committing a traffic offense over the holidays and going through the many challenges retrieving one’s license during this time entails. All of this was detailed in post on James Deakin’s social media page.

Deakin shares that he has always tried to teach his kids how to follow the rules and avoid shortcuts to better understand why rules are in place and become a more careful and cautious driver as a result. He shared that he put his son through a week-long driving seminar, and even made him apply for a license the long and proper way without fixers.

His son appears to have earned his stripes and was now allowed to drive alone. However, during the holidays, he found himself lost on the Skyway and decided to take an exit a bit late. As many of us know, squeezing into an exit late while on the Skyway can draw not just ire from fellow motorists but also an offense from the traffic enforcers there. As such, his son was slapped with an “improper lane change” offense and also a “reckless driving” offense. The son was given 15-days to settle the fine and retrieve the license.

With the incident occurring at the peak of the Christmas season, it was clear that retrieving the license during the holiday season would be challenging. After consulting the LTO office’s schedule, the father and son tandem decided to retrieve the license on January 5, 2026.

Deakin shares that the process at the LTO was not easy. The pair went from desk to desk to submit the requirements and pay the fine, only to be told that even the printed documents of the vehicle involved were needed.

Though not stated, it appears that the pair returned after a day or several days to submit the required document. At this point, however, they were informed that the license is past the 15-day settlement period and has now become a one-month suspension.

This has irked Deakin who has strived to teach his son to follow the rule of law only to be tangled up in red tape. As such, it appears he had no recourse but to relay his story on social media.

It may seem like just a problem with the offense itself or the processes that make retrieving a license difficult. However, there are many more issues being brought up by this situation. We’ll go over them one by one.

First of all, prevention is perhaps the best defense against matters like this. As many traffic enforcers have said to us before, "Ignorance of the law is not an excuse to break it." If Deakin wants his son to be a law-abiding driver, he should have educated his son on the nuances of highway off-ramps. After all, he did say he is familiar with the area where his son was caught. He should then know that it is very easy to get in trouble when forcing one’s way into an exit at the last minute. He should have educated his son to take the next exit instead rather than insisting on taking the nearest one and causing traffic and violating traffic rules. To his credit, he certainly does not dispute the fact that his son violated some traffic laws.

Reckless Driving — by the name alone — already implies a serious offense. Deakin claims it is a criminal offense. However, the law itself states differently.

According to Republic Act 4136, which details the rules of the road that we abide by today, it is treated as an administrative offense punishable by fines, demerit points, or license suspension or revocation.

Perhaps what Deakin should have brought up is the fact that, while it is not a criminal offense, this will come up in his son’s PNP Police Clearance and NBI Clearance. It may not be a criminal offense, but it appears the PNP and NBI treat it like one. Nonetheless, this aspect is beyond the LTO's control. No doubt, when Deakin's son comes of age and begins looking for work, this incident will come back to haunt him and will likely make securing a job in the future difficult.

Whether this is the appropriate offense will depend on an arbitration court to decide. With regard to Reckless Driving, Republic Act 4136 states that “No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any highway recklessly or without reasonable caution considering the width, traffic, grades, crossings, curvatures, visibility, weather, or other conditions of the highway, or so as to endanger the property or the safety or rights of any person or excessive or unreasonable damage to the highway."

Like it or not, the incident did happen on the Skyway, which is a highway, and as such, is one of the prerequisites for a Reckless Driving offense. The LTO is merely an enforcement body. It is up to the Congress and Senate to amend the implementing rules of a Reckless Driving offense.

The second issue is the matter of 15 days to settle the fine and retrieve the license. Granted, many would assume this is limited to working days. However, more recently, LTO chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao has said that this time period does include holidays and work suspensions. It is quite unfortunate that the period fell on holiday season.

However, in the past, the LTO has always given motorists a lot of leeway when it comes to deadlines. Just last year, in light of the many typhoons hitting the country, electronic system issues, and government holidays, and several other reasons, deadlines for vehicle registration have been relaxed or extended by the agency on several instances. Granted, these extensions were granted by a different chief Assistant Secretary. However, it seems hypocritical of the agency to be stern with this requirement when it has proven itself to be much more lenient in the past. And if so, shouldn't the LTO offices also be open on holidays? After all, I’m sure many motorists with confiscated licenses would gladly troop to the LTO office on December 25 to settle their matters, but cannot because the office is closed. Including holidays in the 15 days is plain hypocrisy when it has a history of being more considerate.

Another issue brought up is the matter of the vehicle itself involved in the incident. Deakin has shared that the vehicle involved was only borrowed at the time and that it has since been returned by the time they retrieved the license.

The LTO, for its part, argues that the vehicle was not registered. However, if the vehicle was not registered, shouldn’t that issue have come up during the ticketing process? Shouldn’t the offense have been Driving an Unregistered Vehicle instead, or at least included among the offenses? If it was unregistered, it should have been impounded on the spot. Not allowed to leave.

However, as we know from the account, the vehicle was allowed to leave after being apprehended. It seems some papers were indeed presented if that is the case. Claiming it was an unregistered vehicle after the fact implies that the apprehending officer failed to indicate such, much less impound the offending vehicle. It certainly seems like a lapse in enforcement.

Perhaps the final issue being debated by netizens is the matter of bringing this issue up in social media. Is this the appropriate venue to air such a grievance? The offense can be presented to an arbitration committee and protested. However, that will take some time. And it will take even longer to reverse the marks on the record if they were found to be made in error. By sharing it on social media by contrast, Deakin has already been contacted by ARTA regarding the matter. Indeed, this is not the ideal way to go about it, but would anyone who has gone through the same trouble want to even go back to the LTO to fix this problem?

Deakin shares that he has since been contacted by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) regarding his issue and the agency has met with him and the LTO regarding the matter. ARTA determined that the vehicle’s papers were not required to retrieve the license. We have yet to hear on whether Reckless Driving was an appropriate offense or if the agency was justified in suspending the license after the 15-days that include holidays.

What we can learn from this issue is that both sides appear to be at fault to some degree. Indeed, Deakin should have taught this son better, particularly the proper way to line up for a highway exit. The LTO also needs to clarify some of its rules and streamline its processes. The 15-days deadline should be clarified for all motorists, whether it includes holidays or not, and must be applied uniformly to all LTO matters. In addition, the motorist should be informed of the proper paperwork required. Finally, the vehicle's registration issues must be pursued in a separate case. At the time of the incident, this issue was not cited. This is their lapse and their loss.

It’s evident that there was a genuine earnestness to follow the law, only to be met by needless delays, paperwork, and contradicting policies and enforcement. The law is not perfect, and it’s clear it can be difficult to follow when done the right way. We can only hope that, besides the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), the concerned department secretaries and our lawmakers are paying attention too. This process can be made better, but it needs a lot of discussion and perhaps even some amendments to the law.

For now, all we can do is line up for highway exits properly, have our vehicle’s registration up to date and papers in order, and hope for the best.