By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
THE director of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in northern Mindanao yesterday said he promoted 35 LTO employees faced with allegations of corruption in the hope that they would mend their ways.
LTO director Oscar Salcedo yesterday told reporters the 35 employees were among those he promoted in January in order to cause vacancies down the line.
He said it was not possible to get rid of the allegedly corrupt LTO employees without evidence and so, he took the chance and hoped that they would change.
“I’m looking at a situation wherein the people can say, ‘Na-ay kausaban ang tawo.’ Dili man nimo matangtang ni sila kay wala ka may ebidensya, only hearsay ra man. So gitaga-an nakog change,” Salcedo said.
He said the move was also aimed at providing more room in the LTO regional office for new workers.
Salcedo said, “Kon dili nimo i-promote, unsa-on man nimo pagdugang og tawo? Kon mag-hire ko, unsa-on man ipa-ibabaw lugar nako sa ila? Ma-demoralized na sila, di ba? So gilantaw nako ang ilang future, and ang ilang personality.”
He said he assumed as head of the LTO regional office in October last year, confronted with reports about alleged rampant corruption activities taking place there.
Salcedo said a series of investigations were made into the alleged corruption activities and initially, the names of 25 employees surfaced. He said the number subsequently rose to 30, and then to 35.
One source of corruption, he said, was on the issuances of drivers’ licenses. He said the licenses were allegedly sold for P2,500 each to the unqualified.
“At P2,500, lipay sila, pero wala nila makita ang implication sa driver’s license nga gi-issue nila to those who are not qualified,” he said.
Salcedo said the licenses are privileges granted by the government and not a right, and “only those who are qualified will be given.”
What happened, he said, was that those who did not pass the LTO exams were assured of licenses in exchange for P2,500 each.
He said this corrupt practice has been stopped when he took over.
Salcedo said the cleansing process in the LTO regional office would continue in line with the anti-corruption thrust of the Duterte administration.
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