August 29, 2017 marked the beginning of the five-year validity of drivers’ licenses cards issued by the LTO. Applications were accepted beginning October 2016 for driver’s licenses as well as renewals with five-year validity, however, issues with the printers’ contracts stalled the card printing for almost one year resulting in a backlog of 3.6 million driver’s licenses which only began to be processed September 2017.

Republic Act (RA) No. 10930 effectively amended Section 23 of Republic Act No. 4136, otherwise known as the “Land Transportation (LTO) and Traffic Code” which was signed on August 2, 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte to extend the validity of the driver’s license from three years to five years. According to the law, “Except for student permits, all drivers’ licenses shall be valid for five years reckoned from the birthdate of the licensee, unless sooner revoked or suspended.”

This amendment also added that holders of nonprofessional and professional driver’s licenses who do not commit violations in RA 4136 or any other traffic laws during the five-year period “shall be entitled to a renewal of such license of 10 years, subject to the restrictions as may be imposed by the LTO.” ^[19]

Besides the amendments to the law, new improvements to the quality and security of the license cards were introduced. The old cards with three-year validity were made from PVC, thermally printed, and had limited security features. The new plastic license cards are laser engraved and made of polycarbonate material which is more durable. The new cards also include several new security features.

The Transportation Secretary, Arthur Tugade, and LTO chief Assistant Secretary, Edgar Galvante, led the official rollout

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Transportation_Office_(Philippines)