# Be Careful Driving in the PI



## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Since we have been talking about getting our drivers license in the PI I thought I would report on my observations:

* I would guess that 90% of drivers do not have a DL. Maybe this is just the provinces but I would guess that nation wide it is not much different. They have no need for one since they bypass all the checkpoints.

* I would guess that 10% of vehicles are registered. Most of this is due to the cost but some is due to lack of maintenance or inspections. This guess is based on all the vehicles in my town that are not registered. The famous " For Registration" plate is common, which I guess is supposed to mean I am applying at the LTO, but they never do.

* Anyone can get a DL. Money will get you the license. No written or driving tests required. Even if you are near blind, colorblind, or have other medical issues. The medical is a joke. Now I know why no one follows the rules of the road - they don't know the rules.

A week back I was driving down MacAurthur Hwy and I noticed about 70 big trucks parked along the side of the road. This was about 2km of trucks parked. I thought it was very strange but then we pass thru a Police Checkpoint. Now I know why they were pulled over - they do not want to go thru the checkpoint because they do not have a DL, or correct DL, or the vehicles are illegal.

I have noticed many times when approaching a checkpoint that there are so many motorcycles/tricycles/cars that pull over or take a side street around the checkpoint. I wonder why.

So remember to be safe as most drivers have no business being on the road.


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## expatuk2016 (Mar 20, 2016)

I came here in 2011 used my UK licence for a year then applied for a Philippines licence !
The test ? Haha all i did was drive the car around a small car park , and a urine test ! 
Passed 1st time !
In the UK i had 8 hourly lessons , a highway code test , and a driving test and i passed 1st time!
I gave up driving here in 2013 ! As everyone does there own thing ! We employ a regular driver now.


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## HondaGuy (Aug 6, 2012)

In Quezon City the For Registration plate usually means they've applied for a license plate from the LTO but havent gotten it yet. We have a family member who bought a motorcycle brand new 2-3 years ago and STILL doesnt have a plate yet.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Older vehicles and motorcycles won't get a plate*



HondaGuy said:


> In Quezon City the For Registration plate usually means they've applied for a license plate from the LTO but havent gotten it yet. We have a family member who bought a motorcycle brand new 2-3 years ago and STILL doesnt have a plate yet.


I recently sold my old car 1989 Mitsubishi and I still hadn't received my plate and from what they told me I wasn't going to get one either because of the shape and age of my vehicle.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

HondaGuy said:


> In Quezon City the For Registration plate usually means they've applied for a license plate from the LTO but havent gotten it yet. We have a family member who bought a motorcycle brand new 2-3 years ago and STILL doesnt have a plate yet.


Haha - in my neighborhood you just find something rectangle in shape and write "for registration" on it. Then again most don't even have that, no plate at all. I guess it is not needed unless you ride on MacAurthur Hwy or go thru a checkpoint. I have never seen a police officer make a traffic stop. Only at checkpoints they care to look for a crime.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Also remember that just because you have a Green Arrow for a left turn does not mean that other traffic will stop. Almost no one stops for a red light when making a right turn. Therefore when you are making the left on green arrow you have to merge with all the red light runners.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

expatuk2016 said:


> I came here in 2011 used my UK licence for a year then applied for a Philippines licence !
> The test ? Haha all i did was drive the car around a small car park , and a urine test !
> Passed 1st time !
> ...


I converted my Canadian one in 2017, I was in and out of the LTO in less than 30 minutes with plastic DL in my pocket. No test except for the medical which was a joke.


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## cyberfx1024 (May 21, 2015)

HondaGuy said:


> In Quezon City the For Registration plate usually means they've applied for a license plate from the LTO but havent gotten it yet. We have a family member who bought a motorcycle brand new 2-3 years ago and STILL doesnt have a plate yet.


I saw last year that they have this "brand new" license plate printing machine that can handle 10k of plates a day supposedly. I wonder what happened to it? I also wonder why they don't use prisons to make the plates just like in the USA?


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

cyberfx1024 said:


> ....I also wonder why they don't use prisons to make the plates just like in the USA?


I at first thought that prisoner's making license plates was no longer the case, and that it was a urban myth. I googled and found out that most US plates are made in prisons. Folsom Prison makes all the plates used in California for example, several states make plates for other states. (120 people produce plates for all of the California.) Only 2 US companies make plates and some are imported from a Canadian company but most are prison labour.

Here they could do like Indonesia does, you are assigned a number then go to a local shop and have your plate made to specification. Easy to cheat but a little harder than just using a marker on a piece of paper like they do now.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Here in the UK you just go to an automotive shop with yiu registration documents and they make the plate up for you. I don't know about elsewhere but in the UK a set of plates are for the life of the car.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Here plates are for the life of the car as in the UK.

In Manitoba Canada, plates are yours and you can transfer them to a different vehicle and always get new plates on a transfer of title. (If you buy a new vehicle, sale or trade in the old one the plates are good for up to 7 days before you need to register the transfer. ) 

New plates and registration is about a 15 minute process. It is all handled at the public insurer, but issued at any insurance broker in the province (literally hundreds of places in a province of a million people.)


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## Rebaqshratz (May 15, 2016)

Regarding the absence of a regular number plate, we bought a new MUX in 2017 and received the plate in 2019. They do not have them in stock. The rumor is that the federal government has contracted for the plates but are way behind in the payment due to the vendor. So the vendor is leveraging the government by slow production based on when payments come in. For the newer cars purchased they will use the "construction number" as identifying numbers so that they can be ID'ed and also for coding purposes until a "real" plate is issued that will ID the car and dictate the coding day.

Regarding the license. The preparation as in "drivers ed" is nothing here. My wife was awarded a license without a road test so the lack of knowledge of the "rules of the road" is prevalent here. 

The real problem as I see it is that insurance is not required on older vehicles, We recently were hit on the side by a car coming from what I call the breakdown lane. I was then pushed across the lane then hit by a truck that was using the passing lane. The cop found the nitwit that entered into my lane at fault and the folks refused to pay even my deductible...they actually asked for money from me. The cop just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Going to court was not an option so I paid the deductible myself.

Regarding the trucks parked. They are not allowed on the roads during certain hours. If they heard about a check point up ahead and they were not within their window of time permitted, they park on the side of the road to avoid the check point until the permitted time for their operation is in effect.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Rebaqshratz said:


> The real problem as I see it is that insurance is not required on older vehicles,


Not sure about not required but it is unavailable. I have been trying to get insurance on a 2007 Toyota Innova and it is impossible. They say once they are 10 years old then they cannot insure them.:rant:


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

Rebaqshratz said:


> Regarding the absence of a regular number plate, we bought a new MUX in 2017 and received the plate in 2019. They do not have them in stock. The rumor is that the federal government has contracted for the plates but are way behind in the payment due to the vendor. So the vendor is leveraging the government by slow production based on when payments come in. For the newer cars purchased they will use the "construction number" as identifying numbers so that they can be ID'ed and also for coding purposes until a "real" plate is issued that will ID the car and dictate the coding day.


When I bought my Ranger Wildtrak from Ford in Manila, it came with temporary plates fitted with the same number as the Induction Sticker. After approximately 1 year Ford sent me my new permanent plates via LBC together the new RFID sticker which has to be displayed in the windscreen.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

hogrider said:


> When I bought my Ranger Wildtrak from Ford in Manila, it came with temporary plates fitted with the same number as the Induction Sticker. After approximately 1 year Ford sent me my new permanent plates via LBC together the new RFID sticker which has to be displayed in the windscreen.


Things seem to have changed Dave, as mentioned in an earlier post/thread we purchased a new set of wheels a couple of months ago and no not a widtrak as discussed but had our plates in under 2 weeks no less delivered by the company we purchased from in person, in saying that Ben, the better half brought a new bike, took over two months to get the ORCO and four months later no plates.
It happens and is as it is.

Cheers, Steve.


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

Zep said:


> Not sure about not required but it is unavailable. I have been trying to get insurance on a 2007 Toyota Innova and it is impossible. They say once they are 10 years old then they cannot insure them.:rant:


Theyare giving you some kind of runaround. My van is a 2002 and I have had no problems with insurance or registration as to its age.

Fred


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Zep check with your bank if you want a more premium insurance? Or I'd research that online I find it also hard to believe insurance companies won't register a vehicle that's how they make money. 

I never went the route of premium insurance my vehicle was so old I just went with the LTO offered insurance.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

M.C.A. said:


> Zep check with your bank if you want a more premium insurance? Or I'd research that online I find it also hard to believe insurance companies won't register a vehicle that's how they make money.
> 
> I never went the route of premium insurance my vehicle was so old I just went with the LTO offered insurance.


The banks are the ones that won't insure over 10 years. I did not pursue other avenues as I was afraid of the scammers offering something that would not be there when you need it. Yeah LTO is what I got now but not really worth much even for liability.


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## Steelcleat (Sep 10, 2019)

Driving in PH......seems like a no rules free for all, but it does work. 
I am a long time Triumph motorcycle rider....60's and 70's. Tried to bring my 1974 500 Daytona here but ran into too many problems with customs and taxes and taxes!! 
So first thing i got when i arrived here was an SUV. It's a pain in the neck most of the time. Traffic can be really bad in Angeles City on certain times and it takes forever to get around. Not to mention having to pay attention to every other car, tricycles, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. I finally bought a little 125cc Yamaha and can get anywhere fast. Motorcycles can do just about anything in traffic. Back in the USA I'd have a thousand tickets already if I drove like I can here in PH on a motorcycle.
I only drive the suv now if it's raining, i need to haul a lot of stuff or carry friends around.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Steelcleat said:


> Driving in PH......seems like a no rules free for all, but it does work.
> Back in the USA I'd have a thousand tickets already if I drove like I can here in PH on a motorcycle.


Haha. I know what you mean. I have driven on sidewalks, in opposite lanes of traffic to bypass a traffic jam and then make a right turn at light, run redlights (after stop). There are no police to enforce the rules other than checkpoints which are obvious.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Get a dark window tint. That way they cannot see that a rich foreigner is driving.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

M.C.A. said:


> Zep check with your bank if you want a more premium insurance? Or I'd research that online I find it also hard to believe insurance companies won't register a vehicle that's how they make money.
> 
> I never went the route of premium insurance my vehicle was so old I just went with the LTO offered insurance.


I did some searching a little while ago and several companies offered insurance to 15 year old vehicles.

Back home they never had any issues insuring my 55 year old vehicle, even asked if I wanted additional declared value because of the age and wanted to see pictures of it, not for insurance but they were curious.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

Manitoba said:


> I did some searching a little while ago and several companies offered insurance to 15 year old vehicles.
> 
> Back home they never had any issues insuring my 55 year old vehicle, even asked if I wanted additional declared value because of the age and wanted to see pictures of it, not for insurance but they were curious.


Living in Dubai at the time, I did find it very difficult to get insurance for any of my classic cars and bikes. The insurers were aware of how difficult it can be to get spare parts. This especially so for my 1939 Ariel SQ4.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Another thing to watch out for is crosswalks:

No one stops for pedestrians in a crosswalk. I used to stop at first and cars/tricycles/motors would just keep flying by and no one else would stop. So now I only stop if the pedestrian is in front of me or others have already stopped (never).

A couple of times I stopped and the pedestrian started crossing and then almost gets run over by another lane that will not stop.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Another phenomenon I have noticed is the backing the large SUV out into heavy traffic, they'll get to block the nearsids land then wait until the traffic stops in the middle lane so they can back into it. Once they are in the road they will set off at a snails pace I guess whilst they are putting on their seatbelt/texting that they have left/other.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Turning from the center lane*



Gary D said:


> Another phenomenon I have noticed is the backing the large SUV out into heavy traffic, they'll get to block the nearsids land then wait until the traffic stops in the middle lane so they can back into it. Once they are in the road they will set off at a snails pace I guess whilst they are putting on their seatbelt/texting that they have left/other.


Good one Gary and for sure I've been stuck many times (I don't have a car anymore) waiting for these guys so after this happening to me over and over again I stopped waiting and made them wait for me I wasn't going to let them into the center lane or went around them.

Also I've noticed the blinker comes on from the center lane or it may not come on the driver decides to make a turn and he also will go slowly until he is free to make this turn so no blinker and then slowing down to the side land.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Gary D said:


> Another phenomenon I have noticed is the backing the large SUV out into heavy traffic, they'll get to block the nearsids land then wait until the traffic stops in the middle lane so they can back into it. .....


Not a large SUV but I, and a couple hundred others, got stuck for about 10 minutes behind a 5ton rigid frame delivery truck this morning trying to back (perhaps he was trying to learn how reverse gear worked) into a business for a delivery or pickup.


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## Tiz (Jan 23, 2016)

Zep said:


> Another thing to watch out for is crosswalks:
> 
> No one stops for pedestrians in a crosswalk. I used to stop at first and cars/tricycles/motors would just keep flying by and no one else would stop. So now I only stop if the pedestrian is in front of me or others have already stopped (never).
> 
> A couple of times I stopped and the pedestrian started crossing and then almost gets run over by another lane that will not stop.


BGC seems to be a bit more civilised than the rest of the country in regard to pedestrian crossings.

They have a few large signs that they move around from one crossing to another that reminds drivers of the law.

The cars & bikes will stop, but you have to step in front of them first...


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## 68whiskeymike6 (Jan 10, 2019)

Gary D said:


> Here in the UK you just go to an automotive shop with yiu registration documents and they make the plate up for you. I don't know about elsewhere but in the UK a set of plates are for the life of the car.


Same in the US. , at least in California, Once you get licensed by a local DMV (Drivers Motor Vehicle) office, they send them(two plates for front and back) via mail along with an annually changing colored registration sticker for the current year (renew every year). It ain't easy getting a license in California. You got a written test and that drivers manual is dry as F to read. Then you gotta pass out in the streets with a DMV tester grading your driving techniques, skills, and safety.


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## 68whiskeymike6 (Jan 10, 2019)

Manitoba said:


> Get a dark window tint. That way they cannot see that a rich foreigner is driving.


Ha! Every time I see those, that's what I'm thinking. It's a rich person in there.


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## Adlan (Jun 11, 2013)

This is the most dangerous place in the world just because of the driving. Philippinos are the nicest and most polite people in the world except when they are on the road. I have unfortunately run out of expletives to describe the driving I have seen.
I could not handle the driving and have moved from the beach to in town because of the dangerous driving. I used to drive in rush hour and realized after being hit twice from behind that it was simply a matter of time before I was going to be killed or crippled.
I tried to make a joke of it by recording the worse examples. 
My favorite was coming home one night I had to pull off the road Because :
I had to make room for a truck, being passed by an ambulance (the truck wouldn't pull over) being passed by a motorbike, driving with no lights.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Adlan said:


> This is the most dangerous place in the world just because of the driving. Philippinos are the nicest and most polite people in the world except when they are on the road. I have unfortunately run out of expletives to describe the driving I have seen.
> I could not handle the driving and have moved from the beach to in town because of the dangerous driving. I used to drive in rush hour and realized after being hit twice from behind that it was simply a matter of time before I was going to be killed or crippled.
> I tried to make a joke of it by recording the worse examples.
> My favorite was coming home one night I had to pull off the road Because :
> I had to make room for a truck, being passed by an ambulance (the truck wouldn't pull over) being passed by a motorbike, driving with no lights.


Hi Adlan and if I haven't welcomed you before my bad. Welcome.
Yep I hear you with the shenanigans that go on in PH but have to offer there are many countries as bad if not worse and in all my travels Athens and surrounds would be the worst from personal experiences.Paris, Rome, London, L.A. though interesting not really that bad.
What I have found with driving in PH is though there is mayhem it does seem to work, push and shove when needed or sit back and wait for the next polite driver, yep they are there as in most countries, you seem to be unfortunate being hit twice. Depending on your locale there is most times modes of transport but they also at times come to grief.
Lots of patience and tolerance is required when driving/riding in this fine country, and hey what's the hurry? Enjoy and smile. Vigilance always.

Cheers, Steve.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

Adlan said:


> This is the most dangerous place in the world just because of the driving. Philippinos are the nicest and most polite people in the world except when they are on the road. I have unfortunately run out of expletives to describe the driving I have seen.
> I could not handle the driving and have moved from the beach to in town because of the dangerous driving. I used to drive in rush hour and realized after being hit twice from behind that it was simply a matter of time before I was going to be killed or crippled.
> I tried to make a joke of it by recording the worse examples.
> My favorite was coming home one night I had to pull off the road Because :
> I had to make room for a truck, being passed by an ambulance (the truck wouldn't pull over) being passed by a motorbike, driving with no lights.


If you think here is bad, I strongly advise you against driving in Cairo, Amman, Lagos, Mumbai, etc etc.


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## greenstreak1946 (May 28, 2017)

Personally I think they do a great job driving in the Philippines without traffic lights or stop signs. I use to sit on a bench in tagum city for hours on National Highway and watch them maneuver through the intersections. I would watch the big trucks, buses, motor bikes, cars and trikes go through the 4 way intersection and each one would give way to the others. the smaller vehicles knew to give way for the bigger ones. 

In the USA even when it rains the idiots can't drive. We have so many accidents here because of the drivers attitudes. Here a driver will not give way to others. They start screaming and blowing horns at them. I am amazed how they drive there with no traffic lights or stop signs and hardly ever see an accident.

With most areas without lights and stops signs they move so much traffic through the streets in the Phillipines. Here in the USA we have to sit at lights when there is no traffic coming. What a waste of time. But, lord help us here if we didn't have stop lights or stop signs with the nuts driving on the streets.

art


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

bigpearl said:


> ....
> What I have found with driving in PH is though there is mayhem it does seem to work, push and shove when needed or sit back and wait for the next polite driver, yep they are there as in most countries, ......


What I have found in driving and being a passenger in many different countries is that there is an ethos that is slightly unique for every place. I say slightly because for example Indonesia and Philippines is a similar driving experience as is Canada and the US.

What you have to do is find out that particular driving ethos, and it also may vary slightly within a country, Winnipeg and Toronto are different, and then follow that driving method.

Fighting it and trying to drive in Manila like you would drive in Winnipeg Canada simply will not work any better than driving Manila style in Winnipeg.

Yes it is more dangerous, but the published stats have Philippine death toll for passenger mile about on par with the US. (If you trust official statistics) so not all that dangerous.


Like everything else take reasonable precautions, exercise your due diligence, and then either jump in both feet and enjoy it for what it is or stay under the front porch with the puppies while the big dogs enjoy.


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## greenstreak1946 (May 28, 2017)

hey Manitoba,

I agree with you about the different driving habits. I was born and raised in the USA. I really think the American people are one of the worst for attitude and driving. Unless we live in a rural area that has no traffic then it will be a nightmare driving here. People here are rude, inconsiderate and reckless in driving. I pull into a convenient store or gas station I try to park on the side of lot so I can get out. It is mind boggling to back out of a parking space without someone running you over. They won't wait for 30 seconds to let you out. 

I have to go see my Phychiatrist 3 times a week because of the dumb drivers. hahahahahaha

art


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

greenstreak1946 said:


> hey Manitoba,
> 
> I agree with you about the different driving habits. I was born and raised in the USA. I really think the American people are one of the worst for attitude and driving. ....


I have not had a lot of problems driving in the US. Mostly in North Dakota but also in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City and a few other large cities. A little more aggressive than in Canada but not much for similar areas of driving.

I didn't expect Manitoba/ND driving habits in the large cities, they drive more like the people in Toronto than those in Winnipeg. (KC was about half way between Winnipeg and Toronto driving.)

Manila is like Jakarta driving, except for which side of the road they drive on.


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## Danman (Mar 23, 2016)

I have often seen people sitting on their motorcycles in groups off the road, then further down the road you have police or LTO pulling people up on their motorcycles asking for their licence and I thought why don't these people get a licence, I will tell you why because my wife went to the LTO in Cauayan Isabela to get a drivers licence. First of all they give you a paper to fill out with questions and given a tick the box answers sounds simple ok but there is no book to study to know what the answers are to the questions about road use. Also the questions are in english not many people really understand english here so how do they fill out the answers if they do not understand the question being asked. Next they put your paper with the questions and ticked answers in a machine to check your paper and if you did not tick in the square box you fail. Not one person passed the day my wife went to the LTO and there is a fee included. My wife asked do many people pass the exam and was told hardly anyone. So you have a choice either pay someone money to get you a licence, or just drive without one, most drive without one.... we will pay someone to get a licence for my wife


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Road Signs Photos Found Online*



Danman said:


> I have often seen people sitting on their motorcycles in groups off the road, then further down the road you have police or LTO pulling people up on their motorcycles asking for their licence and I thought why don't these people get a licence, I will tell you why because my wife went to the LTO in Cauayan Isabela to get a drivers licence. First of all they give you a paper to fill out with questions and given a tick the box answers sounds simple ok but there is no book to study to know what the answers are to the questions about road use. Also the questions are in english not many people really understand english here so how do they fill out the answers if they do not understand the question being asked. Next they put your paper with the questions and ticked answers in a machine to check your paper and if you did not tick in the square box you fail. Not one person passed the day my wife went to the LTO and there is a fee included. My wife asked do many people pass the exam and was told hardly anyone. So you have a choice either pay someone money to get you a licence, or just drive without one, most drive without one.... we will pay someone to get a licence for my wife


Danman, many can't afford to pay for their license or registration that's the problem in our area and they forget their helmets or the muffler is not stock but modified to make it much louder... These are the many reasons the trike drivers pull off to the side or make a detour so several times we had to find another form of transportation.

Here's a link from the LTO with traffic signs and it does appear to be in English. http://www.lto.gov.ph/images/Services_LTO/DL/Road_Traffic_Signs_v4.pdf

And then another link to download the latest traffic signs from the LTO Road Traffic Signs and Pavement Markings

You are right it all appears to be in English, English is actually the official language of the Philippines  but there's always the push to keep the native language, when I was stationed in Subic Bay 1985 I noticed the citizens spoke more English than they do today.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Danman said:


> I have often seen people sitting on their motorcycles in groups off the road, then further down the road you have police or LTO pulling people up on their motorcycles asking for their licence and I thought why don't these people get a licence, I will tell you why because my wife went to the LTO in Cauayan Isabela to get a drivers licence. First of all they give you a paper to fill out with questions and given a tick the box answers sounds simple ok but there is no book to study to know what the answers are to the questions about road use. Also the questions are in english not many people really understand english here so how do they fill out the answers if they do not understand the question being asked. Next they put your paper with the questions and ticked answers in a machine to check your paper and if you did not tick in the square box you fail. Not one person passed the day my wife went to the LTO and there is a fee included. My wife asked do many people pass the exam and was told hardly anyone. So you have a choice either pay someone money to get you a licence, or just drive without one, most drive without one.... we will pay someone to get a licence for my wife


You can go to driving classes and take the course. I actually saw a car the other day with Driver under instruction emblazoned down the sides.


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## simonsays (Feb 11, 2009)

I drive in Benguet. And mountain Province. But can never get the courage to drive in Manila seeing so many near misses and hot tempers.. 

Sent from my ASUS_X008 using Tapatalk


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## Tiz (Jan 23, 2016)

Gary D said:


> You can go to driving classes and take the course. I actually saw a car the other day with Driver under instruction emblazoned down the sides.


My girlfriend did this about 6 months ago. Enrolled and paid for 20 hours of driving instruction and then passed the test and was given a license.


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## greenstreak1946 (May 28, 2017)

I don't think I will ever drive in the Philippines. I am not experienced enough to drive their way. I won't take public buses through any mountainous area. I will pay for a private driver and he is given instructions to drive with care. He is told not to drive like a nut or I will get out of his vehicle. 

I do like a small city because I can travel in the trikes to any part of the town. When I was in Tagum city there were no taxis or buses in the town. I either walked or used a trike to get around. It didn't bother me not to have a car. When I had to go to Davao city for immigration every 2 months I took the bus or hires a private driver. That was all flat highways. hahahahha

art


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Tiz said:


> My girlfriend did this about 6 months ago. Enrolled and paid for 20 hours of driving instruction and then passed the test and was given a license.


All they need to do is now make it compulsory and fail anyone not up tp the required standard. A few years down the line and driving in general will start to improve.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Gary D said:


> All they need to do is now make it compulsory and fail anyone not up tp the required standard. A few years down the line and driving in general will start to improve.


They should also implement mandatory retesting on renewal, this will eventually get rid of those who bought their license and never learned how to drive safely.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Retesting*



Manitoba said:


> They should also implement mandatory retesting on renewal, this will eventually get rid of those who bought their license and never learned how to drive safely.


I don't think that the agency has enough people to enforce or research this and for sure no time to retest the drivers in our area it takes 2 - 4 hours to get your license renewal I couldn't imagine the timeline for retesting or the manpower it's just not there plus they aren't computerized yet so everything has to be typed on a computer all over again on a renewal.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

M.C.A. said:


> I don't think that the agency has enough people to enforce or research this and for sure no time to retest the drivers in our area it takes 2 - 4 hours to get your license renewal I couldn't imagine the timeline for retesting or the manpower it's just not there plus they aren't computerized yet so everything has to be typed on a computer all over again on a renewal.


It would require significant changes and upgrades to the LTO infrastructure, i.e. computers and IT implementation as well as significant additional staff to implement.

Also the staff would need to be fully trained and paid well enough that they could afford to be honest. The big drawback is that the staff could see this as a cash cow that would allow them to resell driver licenses every 5 years instead of a one time deal as it is now.

I like a carrot and stick approach to fighting corruption. Just use really big carrots and bigger sticks. Double of triple the pay, have clear and enforced standards of conduct and honesty, fire or jail anyone who is even in the smallest way corrupt.

Have "checkers" go to a LTO, fail the test and try to bribe the official. If the official fails to report the attempt, fire him or her, if they take the bribe, arrest them on a no bail offense and let them think about it for the next 5 years as their case makes it to trial, then give them another 5 to 10 years to make sure they understand that corruption is not socially acceptable any more.

These are a very practicable people, once they learn that corruption is no longer a profitable perk of any official job it will disappear pretty quickly.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Manitoba said:


> It would require significant changes and upgrades to the LTO infrastructure, i.e. computers and IT implementation as well as significant additional staff to implement.
> 
> Also the staff would need to be fully trained and paid well enough that they could afford to be honest. The big drawback is that the staff could see this as a cash cow that would allow them to resell driver licenses every 5 years instead of a one time deal as it is now.
> 
> ...


That's exactly what I would do. The problem is it cost no money to do nothing. Perhaps if the state of the driving in the Philippines is talked about enough they will eventually be shamed into it.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Gary D said:


> That's exactly what I would do. The problem is it cost no money to do nothing. Perhaps if the state of the driving in the Philippines is talked about enough they will eventually be shamed into it.


It is costing a lot of lives.

The reported death toll here is as double or triple that of developed countries like Canada, the UK and other European countries and Australia etc.in terms of fatalities per passenger km.

It is as bad as the US death toll.

That is reported deaths too, anyone want to believe that every highway death here is counted in the official statistics?


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Manitoba said:


> It is costing a lot of lives


That's one of the first things you learn when you come to the Philippines.

Life is cheap.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Manitoba said:


> It is costing a lot of lives.
> 
> The reported death toll here is as double or triple that of developed countries like Canada, the UK and other European countries and Australia etc.in terms of fatalities per passenger km.
> 
> ...


Population control? Just a thought.

Cheers, Steve.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

simonsays said:


> I drive in Benguet. And mountain Province. But can never get the courage to drive in Manila seeing so many near misses and hot tempers..
> 
> Sent from my ASUS_X008 using Tapatalk


Manila has its own time and place, the scenarios are simply go with the flow and be a Nancy or be a little or at times aggressive and push,,, most times having the balls wins, worked for me over the last 8 or 9 years.

Though I don't like driving in Manila, always approach with a take care, a take this and yes off you go attitude. I have definitely pushed through traffic, congestion and problems in plenty of other cities as we do within our own homelands, is it really any different? Perhaps just the mind set.

Cheers, Steve. 
.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Gary D said:


> That's one of the first things you learn when you come to the Philippines.
> 
> Life is cheap.


9 years in Afghanistan, I learned that before ever coming here.


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## Adlan (Jun 11, 2013)

Interesting discussion . It seems to always be about being patient , taking your time , after all it could be worse like in London, Paris, Amman , etc . Right except that the speed limits are not the same. The traffic is much faster and more congested. Rules are required and sometimes ignored but at your own peril !

So if you took your average Filipino driver and dropped them into the traffic at some of these other cities....what would happen ? 

I think they would last 5 minutes and than there would be blood on the streets. Exactly if you took a ten year old showed them how to drive. Than let them drive without any Adult Supervision. They would be driving around the play ground. Ignoring or not knowing the rules. Driving over people. Running into anything in their path. Pushing and shoving with the me first reckless attitude. Because they don't know any better and maybe have nothing to lose. 

Maybe a lot of people want to die in the Philippines and they are all driving.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

It took me a long time to adjust to the driving here and what my 9 years of experience taught me was to slow down also listen to your spouse! You're gonna get killed! he's gonna shoot you! shut your mouth! and if a NUT (Arts word and it fits) wants to get around me let him I'll drive as slow and safe as the roads and road hazards, puppies, kids, toddlers, drunkards trikes, pedi-cycle trikes, bikes come out of no where or stuck in the middle of the road and also unless absolutely necessary do not to change lanes that's not gonna work here you'll get yourself into a fender bender, hit a motorcycle or hit a pole or run into somebody's huge rocks protecting their rice harvest.


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## Adlan (Jun 11, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> It took me a long time to adjust to the driving here and what my 9 years of experience taught me was to slow down also listen to your spouse! You're gonna get killed! he's gonna shoot you! shut your mouth! and if a NUT (Arts word and it fits) wants to get around me let him I'll drive as slow and safe as the roads and road hazards, puppies, kids, toddlers, drunkards trikes, pedi-cycle trikes, bikes will allow me and not to change lanes that's not gonna work here you'll get yourself into a fender bender, hit a motorcycle or hit a pole or run into somebody's huge rocks protecting their rice harvest.


Ha ha I agree. 

Luckily you survived 9 years of dangerous , but slow and very careful driving. No doubt you owe your success to learning how dangerous it was and driving a car !

Unfortunately I cannot afford the cost of purchasing and maintaining a car. A motorbike is cheaper , more maneuverable and more dangerous. No matter how good a driver you are in the Philippines you will eventually get into an accident. Its just a matter of how bad an accident and when.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Trike*



Adlan said:


> Ha ha I agree.
> 
> Luckily you survived 9 years of dangerous , but slow and very careful driving. No doubt you owe your success to learning how dangerous it was and driving a car !
> 
> Unfortunately I cannot afford the cost of purchasing and maintaining a car. A motorbike is cheaper , more maneuverable and more dangerous. No matter how good a driver you are in the Philippines you will eventually get into an accident. Its just a matter of how bad an accident and when.


I couldn't afford my car any longer and what a relief getting rid of it about 4 months ago, what junk heap, but my wife wants us to get a trike for groceries so maybe I'll go that route but for now the public transportation is okay especially the AC bus.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

Not for the first time, I find myself at odds with most opinions here re driving. They drive as is necessary for the prevailing conditions. How many accidents do you imagine there would be in UK or US if there were no traffic lights, stop signs, no traffic enforcers controlling the traffic flow? Here they manage to negotiate all these conditions with a fair degree of consideration and "give and take". You would wait forever in UK to enter or cross the flow of traffic without lights or roundabouts. Try to enter the traffic flow from a side street and you would wait forever. Try to push your way in and you will see the very worst road rage imaginable. Drivers in UK won't even stop to give you time to pull out of a parking space without hooting and giving you the bird. Traffic here adjusts to these situations and does stop to allow traffic to cross at uncontrolled junctions. I find drivers here on the whole to be very patient. I cannot remember being flashed or hooted at all in 4 years of driving here. Nor have I witnessed too many accidents. Yes I've seen the motorbikes lying next to the trucks, but that is a matter of statistics as much as bad driving.....there are zillions of them weaving around traffic so for them it's just a matter of time.
Drive here like you do in UK or US and you're gonna find it tough. Adapt to the local norms and that coupled with the generally slow moving traffic and I don't think it's as bad as everybody claims. Just my 2 cents.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

hogrider said:


> Not for the first time, I find myself at odds with most opinions here re driving. They drive as is necessary for the prevailing conditions. How many accidents do you imagine there would be in UK or US if there were no traffic lights, stop signs, no traffic enforcers controlling the traffic flow? Here they manage to negotiate all these conditions with a fair degree of consideration and "give and take". You would wait forever in UK to enter or cross the flow of traffic without lights or roundabouts. Try to enter the traffic flow from a side street and you would wait forever. Try to push your way in and you will see the very worst road rage imaginable. Drivers in UK won't even stop to give you time to pull out of a parking space without hooting and giving you the bird. Traffic here adjusts to these situations and does stop to allow traffic to cross at uncontrolled junctions. I find drivers here on the whole to be very patient. I cannot remember being flashed or hooted at all in 4 years of driving here. Nor have I witnessed too many accidents. Yes I've seen the motorbikes lying next to the trucks, but that is a matter of statistics as much as bad driving.....there are zillions of them weaving around traffic so for them it's just a matter of time.
> Drive here like you do in UK or US and you're gonna find it tough. Adapt to the local norms and that coupled with the generally slow moving traffic and I don't think it's as bad as everybody claims. Just my 2 cents.


Agree Dave and have at times tried to spit out what you said so eloquently here. Yes it does work horns and all. 

Cheers, Steve.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

We have had 2 pest control guys coming to get rid of the termites for 5 to 6 months, see other posts.

Nice guys and Ben grew up with one of them (friends) in Banks Poro. about 6 weeks ago they decided to have a few drinks after doing their stuff with our invasive enemies, a few led to many and though offered a bed decided to ride their bikes home, bad move. The boss slammed into another bike on the way home and broke his leg, no work for months,,,,,,, the younger worker (Ben's mate) witnesses the accident and said his boss was driving foolishly and he was drunk, they should have stayed at our house.

3 days ago the young bloke with 2 very young children and a wife while drinking with his boss did exactly the same thing, was speeding home, slammed into a Jeepny and was killed outright (no hemet) leaving a family without a father and nil income. A tough life ahead for them and/but seems to be the local way.
Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

BTW I am back in Oz and had no control over either situation.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Tiz (Jan 23, 2016)

Sad story and unfortunately all too common here.

When I was a much younger adult, I had pretty much the same habit, only with 1000 CC under me.

Luckily I escaped with just a broken leg before I wised up.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Motorcycle*



Tiz said:


> Sad story and unfortunately all too common here.
> 
> When I was a much younger adult, I had pretty much the same habit, only with 1000 CC under me.
> 
> Luckily I escaped with just a broken leg before I wised up.


I basically had the same thing happen to me but on my right elbow, I rode in the US the Honda Magna 750, Yamaha FZR 600, Honda Silver Wing 500 and in the Philippines we had two Honda Waves but I've had enough it's just to crowded here and so many deaths in our municipality alone it's either drunks or going to fast, not wearing the helmet. 

My wife attended the final day of remembrance for her God son yesterday he was holding his baby and going to fast the baby survived though but he didn't.

Last year 5 teens were on one motorcycle going very fast and drunk this was late at night the driver passed out and they hit a tree and that was the end, several more too many for me to recall except an Expat he had been drinking and abandoned his bar bill and took off with the brother in-law followed by the baranagay and hit a Water Buffalo that was loose and standing in the middle of the road he bled to death the barangay trike ran out of gas on the way to the hospital and it turns out the so called brother in-law was actually his wifes common law husband.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

The other day I was driving on a rural road just after dusk, not much traffic and not much of a built up area. I was doing about 50 kph. No shoulders and lots of curves so 50 was about the best speed for the road perhaps a little fast if there was any built up areas around.

Suddenly three bikes passed me like I was standing still, I never saw them coming due to curves and lost sight of them in seconds. I'd guess that they were doing about 160 kph.

A minute later their buddy who must have stopped to finish his beer blew past me, if anything he was going to catch them pretty soon.

Never saw them again and there were no signs of an accident at the tee junction ahead, had they gone through the tee intersection they would have smashed through a brick fence, no lights, signs or other markings of the junction, no fresh skid marks either, so I'd assume that they were local and new the road.


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## simonsays (Feb 11, 2009)

Coincidentally an expat In Cebu was knocked off by a Ceres bus a few days ago. Expat in trike. He didn't make it 

Sent from my ASUS_X008 using Tapatalk


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Tiz said:


> Sad story and unfortunately all too common here.
> 
> When I was a much younger adult, I had pretty much the same habit, only with 1000 CC under me.
> 
> Luckily I escaped with just a broken leg before I wised up.


These guys are on 125's and 150's. Imagine them on a power house. The Mio is fast enough for ben and I. We have a car but most times he takes the bike 35 minutes to mum and dads, his reason? Easier to park. I always worry, not for his ability but the other fools out there.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Steelcleat (Sep 10, 2019)

Here's another regulation I was not aware of until I was stopped at a roadblock. Seems if you have one of those "boxes" added to the back of your motorcycle to carry things......IT requires a registration, just like a side car. I paid the guy 500 pesos and he let me go. I went to get the BOX registered and sure enough.....they have a registration fee you pay for those additional add ons to your bike.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Steelcleat said:


> Here's another regulation I was not aware of until I was stopped at a roadblock. Seems if you have one of those "boxes" added to the back of your motorcycle to carry things......IT requires a registration, just like a side car. I paid the guy 500 pesos and he let me go. I went to get the BOX registered and sure enough.....they have a registration fee you pay for those additional add ons to your bike.


Oh man this is another one of those items that either the cops are trying to shake you down or they are just ignorant of the actual law. I have seen the law and it states that if the top box was designed for a motorcycle and is less than so many feet squared that it is exempt. It is only the delivery scooters with homemade/company made boxes (like Jolibee) that require registration of 100p per year. I can dig up the law if needed.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

here is a link to the regulation of top boxes.

https://www.lto.gov.ph/issuances/memorandum/file/117-guidelines-on-inspection-and-apprehension-relative-to-motorcycle-top-boxes-and-saddle-bags.html


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

The top box regulations reminded me of another set of regs around vehicle licensing. These were penalties for misc.

One column says: *Lose or Dirty License Plate* = 5000 peso fine

Another column says: *Fake License Plate* = 1000 peso fine.

How does this even make sense?


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*No License Plate*



Zep said:


> The top box regulations reminded me of another set of regs around vehicle licensing. These were penalties for misc.
> 
> One column says: *Lose or Dirty License Plate* = 5000 peso fine
> 
> ...


Since I think 2014 I paid an additional 500 pesos on my annual registration for a new government issued license plate and never got one and was told my car was so old that I would never get one anyway LOL... So that's where it comes from and many other just have someone else make them a fake plate it's a real number but not the original license plate. There were rules on this new plate including the mounting nuts they all had to be original parts or you'd get a fine.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

M.C.A. said:


> Since I think 2014 I paid an additional 500 pesos on my annual registration for a new government issued license plate and never got one and was told my car was so old that I would never get one anyway LOL... So that's where it comes from and many other just have someone else make them a fake plate it's a real number but not the original license plate. There were rules on this new plate including the mounting nuts they all had to be original parts or you'd get a fine.


But it is legal to make your own plate. I saw the regulations on that too. Just needs to be white background with black lettering and list the number with a few other details like Region and ???.

So I think the Fake plate is where you are trying to use a fake number and deceive the police/LTO into believing it is legally registered.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Fake Registration/License Plates*



Zep said:


> But it is legal to make your own plate. I saw the regulations on that too. Just needs to be white background with black lettering and list the number with a few other details like Region and ???.
> 
> So I think the Fake plate is where you are trying to use a fake number and deceive the police/LTO into believing it is legally registered.



You could be right and this problem festered because it was never addressed right away. 
https://www.autodeal.com.ph/article...d-users-fake-registration-licenses-and-plates


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Zep said:


> But it is legal to make your own plate. I saw the regulations on that too. Just needs to be white background with black lettering and list the number with a few other details like Region and ???.
> ....


When I bought my car the dealer put a "Registered" plate on it with dealer name etc as well as the number on the yellow sticker. After about a month the dealer plate fell off so I went and got a black letter with white background plates made with region, LTO number in small letters and the conduction sticker number in big letters. They are plastic and the same size and shape as a North American plate, Cost 800 p and another 65 p for a local shop to mount them with bolts to the preinstalled threaded mounts on the car. Been driving around now over a month with it, not stopped but have been waved through a few checkpoints with no issues. ( Of course the next checkpoint might be different. This is the Philippines you know.)


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## SeyaRafael (Dec 30, 2019)

It can get Nasty driving in the Ph. A lot of a**holes who don't mind about road safety  so be sure to take precautionary measures whenever driving around.


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