Three alleged fixers of driver's licenses were nabbed in the back-to-back joint operations of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Tuesday morning, June 1.
The operatives began entrapment at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Kawit, Cavite, with no less than the office of the ARTA Southern Luzon Regional Field Office (RFO) posing as a client. This resulted in the initial arrest of two alleged fixers.
An initial report said the suspects received P6,000-marked money from the poseur client to facilitate the upgrading of his driver's license from non-professional to professional.
"Sa pagbubukas ng ating regional field offices sa iba't ibang rehiyon, asahan ninyo na mas matutukan natin ang mga operasyon sa mga probinsya (With the opening of our regional field offices, expect that we can focus on operations in the provinces)," ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica said in a statement.
"Kaya diyan sa mga fixers na ang akala ay hindi kayo mabibisto, tigilan niyo na 'yan dahil hindi na kayo uubra (To the fixers who think they won't get busted, drop the act because you won't stand a chance)," he added.
A few hours later, the ARTA and CIDG conducted another operation in LTO Pasig that accosted an inspector's aide offering fixing services in the student permit application for a fee of P7,500.
The operations came two weeks after Belgica asked the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for stricter regulation and a one-strike policy against driving schools and private companies involved in fixing activities as previous entrapments revealed collusion among LTO employees, driving schools, emission centers, and medical clinics.
The three suspects are now under the custody of the CIDG and will face charges for violating the Ease of Doing Business Act.
Belgica reiterated his appeal to the people not to patronize fixers.
"Magrereklamo ka na ang daming naglipanang fixer, patol ka naman ng patol sa fixer. Hindi kayo nagiging parte ng solusyon, nagiging parte pa kayo ng problema (You're complaining about fixers yet you're patronizing them. You're part of problem, not the solution)," he said.
The ARTA chief urged individuals to take advantage of the government's improved processes rather than rely on fixers.
"Subukan natin ang proseso ng gobyerno. Mababalewala ho ang lahat ng ating mga inisyatiba sa pagsasaayos ng ating mga proseso kung hindi naman natin gagamitin (Let's try the government's process. Our initiatives to improve our services will be wasted if we won't utilize them)," Belgica said.