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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOTr chief eyes 'source of abuse' after sacking LTO personnel in viral incident

DOTr chief eyes 'source of abuse' after sacking LTO personnel in viral incident

Published Mar 4, 2025 12:21 am

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered the creation of a special task force to conduct a “sweeping review” of policies on apprehending violators following a viral incident in Panglao, Bohol.

In a press briefing on Monday, March 3, Dizon said there is an urgent need to assess current regulations of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to identify if these are prone to abuse by law enforcers.

“Kailangan po nating repasuhin ang current na mga regulasyon kasi baka ito ang nagiging source ng abusive behaviors ng ilan sa ating enforcers,” said Dizon.

(We need to review the current regulations because they might be the source of abusive behaviors among some of our enforcers.)

“We want to understand if the current policies are actually providing opportunities for abuse,” he added.

Dizon said the task force will be led by DOTr Assistant Secretary for Road Transport Jojo Reyes.

Over the weekend, Reyes was also tasked with personally investigating the incident in Bohol, which was captured in a video featuring LTO personnel that went viral on social media.

This prompted the Transportation Secretary to order the dismissal of five LTO enforcers, pending a full investigation.

“They are hereby dismissed immediately. Hindi na natin kailangan patagalin pa ito (We don’t need to prolong this any further),” said Dizon.

He maintained that the DOTr will not tolerate any abuse of authority from its ranks.

Dizon noted that as civil servants, government personnel should act as the “people’s servants and not their lords.”

Based on the viral video, LTO personnel were seen apprehending 57-year-old farmer Erifredo Velasco for carrying a knife.

Velasco insisted that the knife is used for farming. However, he was still forcefully pinned down to his motorcycle, with one enforcer even threatening him with the said knife.

The farmer has been accused of being intoxicated and riding an unregistered motorcycle.

Despite this, Dizon said the excessive force used by the enforcers was simply inexcusable.

“Wala pong magja-justify sa nakita nating dahas na ipinakita ng ating mga law enforcers,” he stressed.

(Nothing can justify the violence we witnessed from our law enforcers.)

Dizon said the farmer is currently hospitalized due to the incident.

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Bohol Department of Transportation (DOTr) Vince Dizon
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