The LTO hasn’t waned in its efforts – and statements – that they want to rid the agency of all corrupt officials and practices. While they do admit that it won’t be an easy feat, they can and will see it through with a lot of hard work and sacrifice. That said, Agency Chief Jose Arturo “Jay Art” Tugade has made it clear that the eradication of corruption remains Mission Number 1 since he has taken the helm.
LTO must be able to serve the public with their heads held up high
Photo: LTO
Fixers from within the LTO’s ranks have run rampant, and they have become the target of the agency’s “clearing ops”. If there’s any doubt as to whether the cleansing has begun, fixers have already been nabbed in different offices of the Land Transportation Office. With posts on social media, these individuals would promote their services including the likes of “Non-Appearance/No-Show” vehicle registration all for a higher fee. It’s a clear violation of the agency’s policy that all vehicles must be personally inspected to assess roadworthiness. These alleged fixers were employees of the Paranaque District Office.
Photo: LTO
Very recently, a former agency employee from as far as the province of Antique was also apprehended for engaging in this practice. Found to be in violation of Sec. 4(e) in relation to Sections 21 (h) & 22(b) of Republic Act 11032, otherwise known as the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018”, the fixer named Alfredo De Leon, also known as “Fred” De Leon o Alfredo Jose C. De Leon from the Antique District Office was slapped with 12 counts for violating the Service Delivery act and 12 counts of Falsification of Public Documents.
“I have seen how corruption destroyed the lives of even good men who fell prey to this evil. The LTO is a public service-oriented, customer-driven agency and I would like it to keep it that way by crushing corruption from its head to its tail. This way, all LTO employees in the country will serve the public with their heads held up high,” said Tugade.
“The filing of cases against this corrupt employee serves as an example that LTO offices around continue are doing everything to heed my call to stamp out corruption at their respective areas of jurisdiction. Crime really does not pay at the LTO,” he later added.
It is in this light that the LTO furthers its call for the public to stop resorting to these illegal practices. Tugade said “I also urge our countrymen to stop patronizing these fixers, and to help us weed them out of LTO offices by reporting to us any form of corruption, especially if they are committed by LTO employees themselves. They have no place in government service if we catch them, and heads will roll so let this serve as fair warning to them.”
No doubt, we understand the real difficulty of dealing with some government agencies, which is the reason why fixers were given an avenue to offer their services. For now, it is a long road to “recovery” but the LTO can clearly be seen to do something about all of these. It may be a long road ahead before we can truly enjoy the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery”, but it all starts with a step from within, government agencies and private citizens alike.
