Two local LTO officials, employee under probe for 'conniving' with fixers


Two local officials of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and  another employee of the agency are now under investigation for their alleged involvement in the operation of fixers for the processing of driver’s license and vehicle registration.

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor D. Mendoza II did not name the three LTO employees but said two of them are assigned in Bulacan while the third is an employee at the agency’s Central Office in Quezon City.

“On the very first day of my assumption as LTO Chief, I made it clear that I will be running after all the fixers and their cohorts in our agency. We will not allow these people to taint the name of our agency for their money-making schemes,” said Mendoza.

The two LTO officials were investigated after a successful operation of agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on September 24 wherein a certain Michael Mendoza was arrested for assisting and receiving money from an NBI agent.

On the same day, intelligence agents of the LTO, backed by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), arrested a 40-year old woman who was accused of offering fast issuance of driver’s license during an entrapment operation in Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City.

Nabbed was Desire Daginod, a resident of Pandi, Bulacan. Her other cohort, identified as Gerlo Gomez, 35; was able to elude arrest.

Mendoza said the operation was in response to the reports that several fixers were again offering services to motorists. In the case of the arrested suspect, she had been arvertising her illegal activities through her Facebook account.

“This should send a strong message that we will not allow this kind of illegal activity, nor tolerate any of our personnel to connive with these fixers,” said Mendoza.

“We will always make sure that they are arrested and face the consequences of their illegal activities,” he added. #