Some six months after vowing to stamp out corruption at the Land Transportation Office (LTO), agency chief Jayart Tugade has resigned.
In a May 22, 2023 Facebook post, the Presidential Communications Office released an official statement from Tugade, who cited differences with the LTO’s mother agency, the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“Even as DOTr and LTO both aim to succeed in serving the public, our methods to achieve that success differ,” Tugade said.
“For this reason, I am stepping down, so Sec. Jimmy Bautista will have the free hand to choose who he can work best with,” he added, referring to DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Tugade as LTO chief on November 2022, replacing officer-in-charge Teofilo Guadiz III, who was made DOTr Road Sector assistant secretary.
He is the son of lawyer and businessman Arthur Tugade, who was DOTr chief during the Duterte administration and, thus, Bautista’s immediate predecessor. Before working at the LTO, Tugade had been the acting general manager and CEO of the Manila International Airport Authority.
The DOTr has yet to name a replacement for Tugade as of press time.
“I will continue to root for the LTO’s success even as a private citizen because I will always share in Sec. Bautista’s belief that our offices can be a formidable force for good in our country,” Tugade said.
Hardliner against corruption
Tugade’s term at the helm of the LTO started strong, with campaigns to root out long-running issues, such as the reinstatement of a ban on fixers in LTO facilities.
For a large fee, fixers help facilitate transactions with the LTO, like getting a driver’s license or renewing vehicle registration without going through the proper protocol, often in cahoots with LTO staff.
This often results in unqualified drivers and non-roadworthy vehicles making it onto the street and endangering other road users.
Tugade also vowed to stamp out corruption at the controversial LTO using technology. This included using an IT system run solely by LTO IT experts for better transparency and more efficient vehicle and driver’s license registration.
Trouble with LTMS, license cards
However, Tugade had long faced trouble with one of the LTO’s technological innovations, the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) Portal.
The LTMS Portal was introduced in 2020 as an online “one-stop shop” where LTO clients can conduct transactions like driver’s license renewal.
Transport groups, such as the National Public Transport Coalition, have called on the LTO to stop using the LTMS Potal because of allegedly slower transactions, high service fees, difficulties with Internet connectivity, and the system’s exposure to fixers.
The groups said they plan an injunction in court to halt the further use of the LTMS Portal.
In addition, the LTO and Tugade drew flak on April 2023 for issuing temporary driver’s licenses on pieces of paper. The agency decided to extend the validity of soon-to-expire licenses until its supply of plastic cards normalizes.
Bautista said on May 2023 that the DOTr is working out a deal with the National Printing Office to produce 5 million driver’s license cards in 60 days.
Do you think the LTO’s problems will go away with a new chief?
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Source: What’s going on?! LTO chief Tugade resigns, cites differences with DOTr