The new LTO Chief, Jose Arturo “Jay Art” Tugade, isn’t wasting time. At the turnover ceremony where the reins were handed to him from former Chief Teofilo Guadiz III, Tugade has lined up his plans for a better agency that can serve the people through technology and without the corruption that has always plagued the Land Transportation Office.
New leader at the helm of the LTO
Photo: Land Transportation Office
To “lead the agency to “even greater heights” and “maximize the use of the latest technology” are at the forefront of the Chief’s address during the turnover ceremony. By way of digitization and tech, Tugade expects that the LTO can “deliver a greater customer experience to the people transacting daily at the LTO Central and the Regional and District offices nationwide.”
“Through the power of digitalization as envisioned by Assistant Secretary Guadiz, we believe that the days of corruption in this Agency are numbered. I shall continue to tread the path laid down by Assistant Secretary Guadiz for a fully digitalized, transparent, and corrupt-free LTO of the future,” LTO Chief Tugade
Photo: Land Transportation Office
Another part of Tugade’s priorities for the agency is the intensification of road safety campaigns. A Philippine Road Safety Plan has already been set by the Department of Transportation and based on this, the Chief will continue their push towards “zero deaths in road accidents”.
Most importantly, the quest to rid the agency of its corrupt personnel will continue from Guadiz’s to Tugade’s term. Particularly in the processing of important documents such as motor vehicle registration and driver’s license applications, among others, the new LTO chief has vowed to put an end to all these practices through modern technology.
Photo: Land Transportation Office
Former Chief Guadiz hopes that the greater plans include creating the agency’s own IT system run solely by LTO IT experts. This is all in the interest of better transparency and more efficient vehicle and driver’s license registration, where customers can register their vehicles and apply for driver’s licenses online and making the Land Transportation Office a truly world-class agency, and making its employees financially capable and independent through proper compensation.
“I pass on the dream of an LTO that takes care of its employees, an IT system that is responsive to the needs of the public and someday, we can say to everyone that I am LTO employee free from corruption. Mr. Assistant Secretary, I pass on that dream to you,” former LTO Chief Guadiz
More than his name, Jay Art Tugade has bigger shoes to fill. We all know of the sordid reputation of and within the Land Transportation Office, and to have someone who can truly turn the table around is a leader the public has clamored for decades on end. More than his name, a legacy was left by the new Chief’s father, Art Tugade, in the Department of Transportation. And we have full confidence that Jay Art will leave a lasting improvement, more than just his name, to the LTO.
