LTO chief resigns over differences with Bautista

MANILA, Philippines — Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Jay Art Tugade has resigned effective June 1, citing differences with his immediate superior, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.

“Even as DOTr (Department of Transportation) and LTO both aim to succeed in serving the public, our methods to achieve that success differ. For this reason, I am stepping down, so Secretary Jimmy Bautista will have the free hand to choose who he can work best with,” Tugade said in a statement yesterday.

He was the latest among several top officials of President Marcos who resigned within the first year of this administration.

“I will continue to root for the LTO’s success even as a private citizen, because I will always share in Secretary Bautista’s belief that our offices can be a formidable force for good in our country,” Tugade added.

President Marcos appointed Tugade on Nov. 17 last year. He is a son of Arthur Tugade, DOTr chief during the Duterte administration.

Bautista said his office would recommend to Malacañang a replacement for Tugade before June 1.

“We will submit to the Office of the President our recommendation of an LTO chief who can display the same fervor, while aligning efforts to the mission of this Department,” Bautista said in a statement.

“We extend our appreciation to Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo Tugade for his seven-month stint as Assistant Secretary of the Land Transportation Office. His pursuit of service innovations at LTO benefited the public, for which this office is grateful,” Bautista added.

He did not comment on Tugade’s claim of their having differences.

LTO Strategic Communications Office chief Divine Reyes said Tugade was able to implement various reforms in the LTO.

“In the past more than six months, he was able to implement new policies in the agency,” Reyes said.

Reyes said reforms implemented by Tugade include putting a cap on driving school rates, extending the initial registration period for brand new motorcycles from one to three years, abolishing the periodic medical exam as a mandatory requirement but maintaining its necessity for renewal of driver’s license and offering free theoretical driving course and practical driving course for driver applicants.

Yesterday, Tugade issued a memorandum order limiting to P300 the medical examination fees accredited health facilities can collect from applicants of student permit and driver’s license.

“Accredited medical clinics have several variances of fees and charges, causing discrepancy of rates. For standardization, the LTO deemed it proper and necessary to set the specific maximum medical examination fees to be charged from driver-applicants by accredited medical clinics,” Tugade explained in issuing the memorandum order.

First offense is punishable by 90-day suspension of accreditation and a fine of P10,000, according to the memorandum order. Second violation is punishable by 180-day suspension of accreditation and P15,000 fine. Third offenders face revocation of accreditation and permanent disqualification as an accredited medical clinic or health facility.

Tugade said the new policy was based on recommendations from a committee that conducted a series of consultations to determine a reasonable fee for medical examinations.

Controversies marred the LTO under Tugade, including the shortage of plastic cards for driver’s license as well as license plates for motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles.

Tugade has attributed the shortage of plastic cards and license plates to a DOTr order in January, requiring all its attached agencies to forward to the central office all procurements of more than P50 million.

He said the LTO allocated at least P240 million for plastic cards for 5.2 million driver’s license holders.

He has approved the extension of the validity of the driver’s license to Oct. 31 this year to address the shortage in plastic cards. — Ralph Edwin Villanueva