The regional director of Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Calabarzon or Region 4A (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) surfaced on Friday, March 15, to clear his name and deny the allegations of extortion hurled against him.

Mr. Cupido Gerry D. Asuncion admitted being hurt by the accusations that he was allegedly asking P25,000 as protection money monthly from bus drivers and operators plying the route Naic-PITX (Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange), Tagaytay-PITX, Indang-PITX, Alfonso-PITX, and Mendez-PITX.

"Idine-deny ko po ang mga akusasyon na 'yan. Wala pong nangyayaring ganyan sa aming rehiyon sa aking pagkakaalam at wala akong utos sa mga ganyang gawain (I deny that accusations. No such thing happens in our region as far as I know and I do not have orders for such activities)," a teary-eyed Asuncion said in a radio interview over DZRH. 

According to Asuncion, the alleged signatories in the complaint letter sent to President Marcos in Malacanang came to his office last Monday to present a sworn affidavit, saying that they did not sign any complaint letter detailing the LTO regional director's alleged extortion activities and the signatures affixed on the letter were supposedly forged.

"Pumunta sila sa aking opisina, may dalang sinumpaang salaysay na notaryado ng mga abudago. Hindi raw sila ang pumirma at hindi raw sila ang nagrereklamo, at hindi raw nila ako kilala. Ang sabi nila pareho ko rin silang biktima at nagulat na lang sila na narinig nila ang kanilang pangalan sa radyo at nabasa sa dyaryo (They came to my office bringing a signed affidavit that was notarized by a lawyer. They said they did not sign [the complaint letter], they are not complaining against me, and they don't know me. They said they, too, are victims like me and they were surprised when they heard their names on the radio and read it on newspapers)," Asuncion said.

"Doon sa reklamo na nareceive sa Malacanang ay hindi tugma ang pirma sa kanilang ID sa binigay na sinumpaang salaysay (Their signatures on the complaint letter sent to Malacanang did not match their signatures on the ID they presented in their sworn affidavit)," the LTO official added.

Asuncion suspected that there was an ouster plot against him which could be work-related as he impounded many colorum buses and vans in the region, including those from big companies. He did not mention names.

He assumed the post on May 30, 2023 and is in office for barely 10 months.

"Hindi ko sila masisi na magalit sa akin. Ang fine ng isang bus ay P1 million at ang isang van ay P200,000. Makikita nila sa impounding area namin ay napuno na ang isang ektarya (I cannot blame them if they get angry at me. The fine for an impounded bus is P1 million and for colorum van, it's P200,000. You can see our impounding area, the entire one-hectare is full of [colorum vehicles])," Asuncion said.

Asuncion said the sworn affidavit of the alleged complainants as well as his explanation were already submitted to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and LTO head office as part of the investigation.

"Hintayin ko na lang na maresolba ang kaso. Sana maging fair para maliwanagan ang lahat, lalo na ang mga kabababayan at sa lahat ng nasa gobyerno. We owe it to them ang aming serbisyo na totoo at walang pagiimbot at korapsyon (I will just wait for the case to be resolved. I hope it will be fair so that it will shed light on everything, especially to the people and government workers. We owe our truthful service that is not tainted by corruption to them)," he noted.

Asuncion added that he asked LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza to replace him while the investigation is ongoing but the latter refused. Instead, Asuncion filed a leave of absence to avoid any doubt on the probe.

"Sa gobyerno, kailangan natin may delicadeza. Kung may anomalya, hindi na nila ako kailangan sabihan. Kusa akong aalis at hindi tatagal ng isang minuto, iiwan ko ang aking posisyon (In the government, we need delicadeza. If there is an anomaly, they don't need to tell me anything. I will personally pack my things and leave my post, it will not even take a minute)," Asuncion said.

"Sa gumawa nito, nasaktan ako pero ngayon pa lang pinapatawad na kita. Sana maliwanagan ang iyong kaisipan at kalooban, sana 'wag mo na ulitin. Kung kailangan niyo na maalis ako sa pwesto sabihin niyo nang maayos, hindi ako kapit-tuko sa pwesto, 'Wag lang din masaktan ang aking mga mahal sa buhay (To the ones who did this, I was hurt but I forgive you. I hope you will be enlightened and do not repeat this. If you want to remove me from my post, just say it because I am not clinging into my post. I want to save my loved ones from getting hurt)," he shared.