LTO loses P.2 million to burglars

MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) lost nearly P200,000 in earnings when burglars broke into its licensing office, police said yesterday.

Senior Police Officer 2 Neil Garnace said the burglary was discovered by cashier Eddie Almoraza, 47, when he reported for work at 6:30 a.m. yesterday. When he checked on the safety box where the P192,000 was kept, he found the money was missing.

Almoraza, who had just started working as a cashier since April, immediately reported the missing money to the guard.

Garnace noted there were no signs of forced entry into the licensing office. Because of this, he said there was a possibility that the burglary might have been an inside job.

He said they are investigating the guards and employees who had access to the licensing office. LTO chief Virginia Torres said these emplo­yees will be investigated and those who will be found to have had a hand in the burglary will be penalized.

Torres said there may have been “negligence” on the part of the employees – she found out that the safety box was “defective” but this was not immediately reported to LTO officials.