LTO officially turns agency leadership over to new Chief, Atty. Vigor Mendoza II
The LTO has officially appointed its new Chief. Today marks the official turning over of the leadership reins, and so marks the “first day” of Atty. Vigor Mendoza II as the agency’s head. Appointed last week, Mendoza takes over from (now) former OIC Hector Villacorta after a tenure of about a month and a half.
DOTr Secretary reminds new LTO Chief Mendoza to “work with honesty and integrity”
Photo: Land Transportation Office
The events leading up to the agency’s new leadership have been quite tumultuous, but as with all good things, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista expressed his full support for Assistant Secretary Mendoza. “I will give my full support to Atty. Mendoza. Ang mahihiling ko lang kay Atty. Vigor ay [My only request for Atty. Vigor is] let’s do our job and responsibilities with honesty and integrity and I want all the officers and employees to be treated fairly. Ang ating mga employees ang ating [Our employees are our] most important asset,” Bautista said during the turnover and oath-taking ceremony.
Bautista also expressed his thanks to Hector Villacorta for answering the call and accepting the post of OIC for the LTO.
Photo: Land Transportation Office
For his part, newly-minted LTO Asec. Mendoza was very candid and wants to hit the ground running. Emphasizing his dedication to promoting efficiency and transparency within the agency, Mendoza said, “Let’s not wait 5 years, ang aking laging iniisip kung magagwa natin bukas bakit pa natin hihintayin and [I always think that if we can do it tomorrow, then why wait until] next week. Gawin na natin ang magagwa natin ngayon [Let’s do what we can do now].”
“Let’s not waste time sa rami ng kailangang gawin at sa rami ng kailangan nating maayos [because we have a lot to fix]. Sana maayos natin sa lalong madaling panahon and then in the next 5 years dahan dahan na lang tayo [Hopefully we can fix it all as soon as possible so we can progress steadily in the next 5 years].”
“I’m determined to help out the secretary. Kung ano po ang instruction ni Secretary sa akin ay iyon naman po ang ihihingi natin ng tulong sa inyo, na magawa kaagad ang gustong mangyari ni (Secretary) sa LTO [and whatever his instruction to me is, that’s what we’ll ask for your help with as well so we can quickly accomplish what Secretary Bautista wants to happen with the LTO],” Mendoza added.
In a nutshell, we have just been made to expect ASec. Mendoza to extend all assistance to Secretary Bautista by addressing various concerns of the public, including the license cards shortage and motor vehicle plates backlogs, all with the mindset that “If the tasks can be done immediately, it must be done right away”.
Photo: Department of Transportation
The proverbial shoes that Atty./ASec. Mendoza needs to fill are rather big, but we remain optimistic and offer him our full support. As a lawyer, a former Board member of the LTFRB, and the chairperson of the 1-United Transport Koalisyon (1-UTAK) party list, his familiarity, experience, and tenure are beyond question.
Godspeed, Asec. Mendoza! We will eagerly watch how you steer the LTO along the right and best path forward.
