Hail to the LTO chief

It seems our culture is to lambast political appointees simply because they are friends, shooting buddies, and former classmates of the President. Among the targets of criticisms in the past two years was the head of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) Virginia Torres. When she was appointed in July 2010, the media outburst focused on her being a “shooting buddy” and a protégé of the Iglesia ni Cristo.

For the first time, Assistant Secretary Torres spoke at the Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel Hotel the other day, explaining her office’s accomplishments, and the rough road she has travelled to demolish the allegations raised by critics who have nothing better to do than question her appointment.

From the dialogue, we learned she had not just been plucked out of nowhere. Of course, she was a nobody, compared to mega stars and scions of political giants. But her story is fascinating, and explains why the President gave her one of the government’s sensitive positions.

Virginia Torres, 58, is from Tarlac, the President’s province. She finished all of her academic education there, from the elementary grades to high school, to college: BSE, cum laude, from the Dr. Nicanor Reyes Memorial College in Paniqui, where she also obtained a bachelor of commerce degree; to a bachelor of laws at the University of Pangasinan in Dagupan; a master’s in public administration and a doctorate of public administration from the Tarlac State University. She worked for these degrees while she was working as a public servant.

She started working with the LTO 32 years ago, her first job as some sort of clerical assistant, fixing papers and documents. She is the proverbial one rising from the ranks. Her position before her appointment as Asec was as senior transportation regulation officer at the Tarlac LTO District Office. One day she learned that then Tarlac Congressman Benigno Aquino III would be dropping by her office. She jokingly asked him to help fix her building which was badly in need of repair, and to her surprise, a few weeks later, the answer came — in the form of a P1-million allocation. A magnet-like professional relationship developed between them. During the presidential campaign, she called him “My President,” and he would smile and say if he got elected, he would make her an asec (assistant secretary) which he did. She had had some dry-firing experience (shooting at paper targets), and one time the President asked her to join a shooting party; she said she didn’t bring her gun (licensed, for sure), but the President said she could use his Glock handgun. In July 2010, the President made good his promise to give her the LTO highest post. He must have been convinced she knew everything about land transportation.

Her transfer to the LTO headquarters on East Ave., Quezon City, was no bed of roses. A report handed out at the media forum said the first semester of CY 2011 saw the continuation of the same frenetic media attack in the last quarter of 2010 that was unleashed against the beleaguered LTO head, to unseat her.

An issue that greeted her upon her assumption to the coveted LTO post related to a conflict between the LTO and STRADCOM, the LTO IT supplier. According to the LTO accomplishment report for 2011, Asec Torres “stood firm on principle that the LTO IT supplier should not be paid for application it was developing and which on record was still ‘on testing mode.’ Also, she requested that the same supplier implement the refund of more than P30 million that it collected from motor vehicle owners for the installation of radio frequency identifications (RFID) that never were. The request was based on a Supreme Court decision that the situation ante order should prevail. The supplier did not refund but instead went to the Supreme Court on a motion for reconsideration.”

 When pressed to explain her seemingly belligerent stance, Asec Torres said that by her actions, she was following the President’s order that “dapat walang korapsyon at sundin ang tuwid na daan.”

The LTO chief was asked to go on an official leave of absence for 60 days. So she went on leave, to the delight of her detractors. But she returned to her post, supported by the new Department of Transportation and Communication secretary who is committed “to resolve the issue of LTO’s lack of control over its supplier as pointed out by a Third Party Auditor. After all, the IT system is the touchstone in the LTO’s delivery of convenient, affordable, reliable, efficient and safe transport system.”

Torres told Bulong Pulungan LTO will celebrate next week its 100th founding anniversary with the theme, “Balik-tanaw sa nakaraan . . . Balikatan ngayon . . . Baybayin ang Kinabukasan.”

Looking at the past, Torres proudly claimed that by the end of last year, as it closed the first century of land transport regulation in the country, LTO had accomplished “note-worthy milestones in public service and good governance.”

For 2011, LTO registered a total of 7,138,942 motor vehicles, 3.46 per cent higher than the 6.9 million yearend target for MV registration. There were also 4,493,586 driver’s licenses and permits issued, 0.84 per cent higher than targeted. Apprehensions handled reached 900,428, higher than the annual target of 818,2309 apprehensions.

These figures translate to over P14 billion in revenue collections for the government’s third highest revenue-collection agency, said Torres. This is 1.88 per cent higher than the annual revenue target and 5,41 per cent higher than revenues collected the previous year.

These accomplishments have not come without tears. According to Daisy P. Jacobo, chief of the

LTO Traffic Safety Division, the chief has received death threats, which is why she has had to have security services. These threats come from fixers, carnappers, smugglers and other crime syndicates.

LTPO plans for 2012 has bidding for a new tamper-proof IT system at the top of the list’ motor vehicle plate standardization; launching of motorcycle safety learn to ride program for third and fourth year high school students; continuing implementation of traffic discipline zone project at the expressways, rationalized deputation program for the seat belt use act and other laws.

Complaints have also been raised about red tape and corrupt practices from dissatisfied customers. But vehicle owners need to obey laws to have an orderly transportation system. The LTO’s accomplishment report notes the low threshold of compliance from motor vehicle owners, non-compliance with the seat belt law, and use of unauthorized improvised plates, among others. The presence of “fixers” in LTO premises cannot be stopped without patrons. Asec Torres said, “One thing about Filipinos is that they rely on fixers to do the registration of their motor vehicles because they’re too lazy, or too busy, to do it themselves.”

I’ve personally renewed my driver’s license and car registration in a much quicker time, like 20 to 30 minutes, than before. This is to the credit of the LTO chief, and the men and women, whom she describes as being “committed towards the mission of working tirelessly every day to be able to leave behind a legacy of dedicated public service aligned with the LTO’s vision of becoming a model government agency.”

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