The Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) have committed to intensify their campaign against "fixers", especially those offering their services outside the transportation agency's headquarters in Quezon City.
"We welcome the help of ARTA and we are going to ask for their help these fixers," LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar C. Galvante said during a meeting between officials of the two agencies on Wednesday, June 23.
This came following last week's arrest of a fixer outside the LTO main office who offered his dubious services to ARTA Undersecretary Carlos Quita. Specifically, he promised to help renew his driver's license for a sizable fee.
With this, ARTA Director General Jeremiah Belgica has vowed to strengthen their anti-fixer operations along the stretch of East Avenue in Quezon City where several government agencies are located and has long been a hotspot of fixers.
Belgica said that ARTA will seek assistance from the LTO, other transacting national government agencies in the area, the Quezon City government, as well as law enforcers to augment the personnel that they will deploy in the vicinity for increased visibility.
An adequately-staffed Public Assistance and Complaints Desk will also be set up at the LTO headquarters to assist clients and prevent them from engaging in illegal transactions.
Meanwhile, the LTO and ARTA have clarified the erroneous reports that surfaced following the recent entrapment operations against the fixer.
"A number of news reports indicated that ARTA said that the fixer was caught inside the LTO headquarters, which is false. The Authority also did not claim that the license that the ARTA undersecretary received was fake, contrary to media reports," ARTA said in a statement, also on Wednesday.
Galvante also cleared ARTA's name after an official from the Quezon City Licensing Office demanded an apology due to the "false report" which has since been taken down.
Based on ARTA's investigation, the fixer asked Quita for a P4,500-fee in exchange for a faster renewal process. The ARTA official paid an initial amount of P2,500 to the fixer, who then assisted him in undergoing the legitimate process of the LTO.
According to Belgica, the fixer took advantage of the public's impression that the government is still implementing slow, bureaucratic services.
"Kung mayroon po sigurong dapat magpaliwanag dito ay yung mga fixer sa labas na taking advantage, of course, sa mga proseso (If there is someone who should explain here, it should be those fixers outside LTO who are taking advantage of the processes," he said.
The ARTA secretary assured all concerned agencies that they would be informed before entrapment operations are launched.
He also renewed ARTA's commitment to collaborating with other government agencies to eliminate fixing and other acts of extortion that contribute to the proliferation of red tape.