Man asks Ombuds to probe LTO

CEBU, Philippines - A former job order employee of the Land Transportation Office-7 asked the Office of the Visayas Ombudsman to look into the alleged irregularities at the office involving its officials.

Antonio Dosado, of Springwood Subdivision in Minglanilla, said in his letter to Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol, he already raised his concern before Aden Belza, officer-in-charge of the LTO-7 Administrative Division, but it seemed they all fell in deaf ears.

In his letter dated June 14, 2011, a copy of which furnished to The FREEMAN, Dosado said job order personnel, who are not considered as government employee, were allowed to operate as drivers of LTO patrol cars.

He said that the required trip ticket and gas slip for the usage of the patrol cars were represented/signed by one Macario Getaruelas to mislead the Commission on Audit, apparently a violation of the standards on government accounting and audit rules.

According to Dosado, the deputized agents who are private individuals were allowed to ride LTO patrol cars in their daily/routine roadside apprehension operations.

He said most of the deputized agents who were granted deputization are administratively unqualified, since a general qualification is that they must be government employees.

Dosado further alleged that LTO employees with a plantilla position of utility were assigned in sensitive positions such as license custodian in the Operations Division.

Likewise, he said several confiscated driver’s licenses were released without the LTO official receipt issued to the violator. Obviously, he added the money merely go to some people’s pockets.

Dosado also said that vehicles-for-hire were registered by some unscrupulous and corrupt district/extension office chiefs even without passing the mandatory requirement for Motor Vehicle Inspection Center/s (MVIC), vehicle roadworthiness, but still collected and unaccounted (no Official receipt issued) the overcharged MVIC fee.

According to him, Belza did not make constant follow ups for the release of or find ways that job order personnel will be paid promptly.

He said job order personnel of the LTO-7 were not paid of their meager salaries since the month of February, so some of them resorted to some illegal and corrupt practices, such as fixing, over-assessment of payments, and others.

Dosado also questioned why LTO-7 director Raul Aquilos, a hold-over, continues to cling to the position.

Aquilos is allegedly supposed to be in his new assignment in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) at DOTC in Kalinga-Apayao after his promotion to Director III.

Dosado said he is hoping the Office of the Visayas Ombudsman will look into the irregularities at the LTO-7 as they affect the delivery of services to the people especially the poor drivers. — (FREEMAN)