Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez on Tuesday urged transport group Manibela to submit the names of traffic enforcers accused of soliciting bribes from jeepney drivers.
Lopez made the request after the group alleged that a “culture of payola” continues in some offices of the Land Transportation Office which drivers must navigate to avoid disrupting their routes.
“I’m telling Manibela, I’m calling on them to give us the names of the enforcers, the names of the LTO government employees who are actually accepting this kind of bribery. We will fire them,” Lopez told the Inquirer.
Lopez also asked jeepney drivers to stop giving money to traffic enforcers. He said “I hope they don’t bribe anymore. They shouldn’t do that because that’s also against the law.”
Lopez said he has spoken to LTO Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao to address the corruption allegations raised by Manibela and the reported delays in issuing required documents and franchise renewals for jeepney operators and drivers.
The transport chief also stressed that roadworthy public utility vehicles will be registered without issue. “What we should remember is that the government’s policy is always that, as long as your vehicle is roadworthy, whether traditional or modern, we need to register it. If it’s not roadworthy, we’ll be patient,” Lopez said.
Manibela is holding a three day nationwide transport strike from Tuesday until Thursday to protest alleged abuses against jeepney drivers, particularly the “unjust demerit point system,” the non renewal of franchises, and the entrenched “payola culture” inside transport agencies.
