The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said it will soon press charges against the division chief of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) Caloocan and the barangay officials in the area over their supposed inaction on the proliferation of fixers.
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica made the statement after yet another alleged fixer in the premises was arrested in an entrapment operation launched by ARTA and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Thursday, July 15.
In an interview, Belgica said that the recent development pushed ARTA to file charges against LTO and barangay officials in the areas.
"Kami po'y magsasampa ng kaso sa mga opisyales laban diyan sa loob ng LTO, pati rin po sa opisyales ng barangay dahil doon po sa kanilang area ito nangyari ulit (We will file cases against LTO officials and barangay officials because this happened in their area again)," he said.
"Sinabihan na po natin sila na magtulungan para linisin 'yung lugar na 'yan pero mukhang naglilipana pa rin diyan (We already asked for their cooperation in cleansing that area but it seems there were still many fixers there)," he added.
It can be recalled that an alleged fixer, who offered to process the student permit of an undercover agent, was also arrested in the same area on June 30, 2021.
ARTA identified the alleged fixer arrested on Thursday was identified as Crisanto Dela Peña, 40, resident of Caloocan City.
According to a report, an ARTA-CIDG undercover agent, who was posing as an applicant for a student permit, was approached by Dela Peña on July 14, 2021, and offered to process the agent's student permit application in a day for a fee of P4,000.
The said amount was inclusive of a medical exam and the release of the theoretical driving certificate.
ARTA said this process usually takes three days as applicants still have to undergo a three-day driving seminar before being issued a student permit.
The permit normally costs P317.63. Applicants can also get the certificate for free if they attend the seminar at the LTO Driver Education Center, where topics such as traffic laws, rules, and regulations will be covered.
The two agreed to carry out the transaction at around 10 a.m. Dela Peña was later arrested by elements of ARTA and CIDG.
The arrested suspect will be facing charges for violating the Ease of Doing Business Act.
Meanwhile, Belgica reiterated his call for government agencies to not tolerate fixers stationing outside their offices.
"Nanawagan na kami sa mga ahensya na magtulong-tulong linisin, kayo na po ang mag-operate, huwag na hintayin ang ARTA (We call on the different agencies to work together in getting rid of fixers. They should not wait for ARTA do it)," he said.
He added that ARTA will continue to intensify its anti-fixer operations and that the agency will coordinate with the Caloocan City government to establish outposts and deploy mobiles in fixer-prone areas.