LTO fixers rounded up

Weeks after being publicly berated by President Arroyo during a surprise visit, Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Roberto Lastimoso announced yesterday the arrest of 225 fixers operating at various LTO offices in Metro Manila.

"So far we have arrested and charged 225 fixers. We are displaying their photos at the LTO offices," Lastimoso told reporters during the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon City.

He said the arrest of the fixers was the result of a new system, which requires all persons entering the LTO compound to get numbers and color- coded identification cards to determine with which office a visitor will transact business.

Lastimoso said those loitering inside the compound without the color-coded IDs will be considered fixers and will immediately be arrested by roving security personnel.

However, he pointed out that fixers can only be charged with vacancy, which carries a fine of P200.

He said the crackdown on fixers is part of the reforms he will be undertaking following the dressing down he received last June 10.

Lastimoso said that he is complying with the presidential order to cleanse the agency, giving a self-imposed deadline to do just that.

"I want to prove that I can institute reforms in the agency. After I finish my task I will resign from the post," he said.

The LTO chief said that he is giving himself at least two weeks to rid the central office with fixers. He will expand the crackdown on all offices across the country. – Perseus Echeminanda