Public Safety Commissioner Edward C. Camacho has ordered the implementation of a new law that prohibits the confiscation of a driver’s license.
“A police officer may only inspect the information on the operator’s license and shall return the license back to the driver of the vehicle,” Camacho said in a memorandum on Monday.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta on Friday signed Senate Bill 13-7 into law.
According to Senate Vice President Jose M. Dela Cruz, D-Tinian and the bill’s author, “to surrender one’s driver’s license is not only unnecessary because of the availability of obtaining a bench warrant from the court if the persons fails to appear at the appointed time, but also very inconvenient to the person who may rely exclusively on the driver’s license as the person’s sole form of identification for common everyday transactions.”
Some police officials, however, said confiscating a driver’s license also deters people from violating traffic law.
Non-residents cited for traffic law violations may now leave the island without paying fines, the police officials who declined to be identified said.
