LTO loses P.1 M to burglars

MANILA, Philippines - A break-in occurred at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) headquarters in Quezon City over the long weekend, with an official losing more than P100,000.

Leda Jose, head of the plates unit at the LTO, lost P135,000 in her bag that was stored in a steel cabinet in her office. The money represented payments for plates sold by the agency.

Senior Police Officer 2 Mario Turiano said the burglars ransacked four adjacent offices on the second floor of the building, including the one headed by Jose. The other rooms were the equipment unit, supply and property sections.

Turiano said “the table drawers and the cabinets have been opened” in these offices. He said the burglary was discovered by janitress Janete Ortega at around 6 a.m. yesterday.

According to Turiano, the suspects may have entered through a hole in the wall for the air-conditioning unit in the equipment section. “The air-conditioning unit was already on the floor when we arrived there,” he said.

Turiano said the burglars might have scaled the building through the roof of the Flora Ilagan High School, which is beside the LTO compound.