Medium Rare

On his first day as Land Transportation Office chief, Hector Villacorta was greeted by an enthusiastic fixer. “Renewal, renewal!” was the shouted offer, “two thousand pesos!” A rude awakening, a signal of things to come that cry to be banished forever? Indeed, eliminating fixers and getting rid of them as a policy is a priority that the chief said he’s considering along with digitalization. A few hours before his press conference last Tuesday, I bumped into him and his friend (who happens to be my friend also) and I imagined that whatever we talked about would be a scoop for me. But what he did not tell the presscon I have a fairly good idea of. That on his first day, June 1, he gave himself a tour of the premises, during which he found a way into his office, through what might be considered the back door. To this day, he said, he has not brought in anyone to help him — not a secretary, not a chief of staff. Later that Tuesday night, I caught on TV news of the LTO’s orders for so many hundreds of thousands of plastic license cards for drivers of four-wheel vehicles as well as motorcycle riders. Between July and December, the news went, LTO will be releasing 5.2 million licenses, or one million in the next two months, at a total cost of ₱219 million. How many drivers are served by LTO? His reply: 23 million. How much does each card cost LTO? Forty pesos, the plastic provided by the “lowest bidder” supplier, but the data — name, address, picture, etc. of the driver — are printed by LTO machines. Before his LTO appointment, Mr. Villacorta was with the office of Senate President Tito Sotto. From the relative calm and quiet of that sanctum, he has been thrust into the arms of a horde of taxpayers who want to be served now, conveniently, at a price they’re comfortable with. Will driving tests continue to be done online? He said, “LTO used to conduct actual driving tests, but that area has since been taken over by a construction site.” Has the LTO chief taken — and failed — a driver’s licensing test? “No,” he said. Maybe he doesn’t drive.