Republic of the Philippines  
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ______ 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Representative FRANZ E. ALVAREZ 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
It is axiomatic that where there’s no LTO office, the cost of driver’s license or OR/CR 
renewal is exponentially five or ten times higher. This reality is best illustrated in Calamianes in 
Palawan or the island cluster of the Municipalities of Coron, Busuanga, Culion and Linapacan.  
A typical tourist transport driver from Coron who wishes to renew their license will have 
to either fly to Manila or Puerto Princesa to get this done. In either those places, they will have to 
spend no less than one night in an inn before traveling back. This is because though renewal takes 
less than an hour, traveling within the same day to catch a return flight is fairly difficult.  
The fare to Manila or Puerto Princesa from Coron ordinarily costs P3,500, round-trip at 
P7,000. A decent overnight accommodation will cost them about P1,000 and combined with a 
P150/meal x 3 meals x 2 days, puts the total budget for food and lodging at P1,900. Combined 
together with the fee for license renewal of a conservative P600, the van driver will have to budget 
about P10,000 just to make sure that no local traffic enforcer hounds them every time they ferry 
tourists or that they will not be held liable should they figure in a road accident. This is more than 
ten times than what a local living near where there’s an LTO district office will pay for. 
This Bill seeks to ease the difficulties of registering and renewing driver’s licenses and 
motor vehicle registrations of the residents and firms in the Municipalities of Coron and the 
adjacent Busuanga and the island Municipalities of Culion, Linapacan, Agutaya, Cuyo and 
Magsaysay that are literally hundreds of kilometers and no less than twelve hours away from the 
only LTO District Office in Palawan that is located in Puerto Princesa City. 
The lack of an accessible LTO district office in the said tourism towns naturally restricts 
the movement of people and goods thereby reducing opportunities for new businesses, job 
generation, and additional local revenue. The pre-pandemic steady growth of tourist arrivals in the 
area punctuates the loss that could have otherwise provided more food on the table or additional 
budget to send the youngest child to college. 
This Bill will benefit the drivers and vehicle owners who are mostly dependent on tourism 
and its related activities in the Calamianes and neighboring islands, El Nido being 3 hours away, 
included. If approved before the Eighteenth Congress adjourns, its benefits will be reaped just in 
time for the reopening of Palawan as one of the world’s best island destination especially by those 
who really felt the impact of the global pandemic. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this Bill is earnestly sought. 
FRANZ E. ALVAREZ 
FRANZ E. ALVAREZ
DATE 27.07.2021
08:33:00 +08’00”
July 27, 2021
9:49 am
9880


Republic of the Philippines  
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ______ 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Representative FRANZ E. ALVAREZ 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A REGULAR DISTRICT OFFICE OF THE LAND 
TRANSPORTATION OFFICE (LTO) IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF CORON, 
PROVINCE OF PALAWAN AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
Section 1. There shall be established a regular district office of the Land Transportation Office 
(LTO) in the Municipality of Coron, Province of Palawan. 
Sec. 2. The Secretary of Transportation shall immediately include in the Department’s programs 
the operationalization of the LTO District Office in the Municipality of Coron, Province of 
Palawan the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act 
(GAA).  
Sec. 3. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in 
a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved, 
9880