EDITORIAL - Cleaning up the LTO

There aren’t too many things that the public expects from the Land Transportation Office. Foremost is the speedy, hassle-free processing of driver’s licenses and vehicle registration. Second is the apprehension of the worst violators of laws against smoke belching: buses, trucks and poorly maintained taxi vans.

Retired Brig. Gen. Edgardo Abenina, in his 11 months at the helm of the LTO, showed that speedy processing of documents for drivers and vehicles is possible. In so doing he rendered many fixers jobless and thus earned the ire of corrupt personnel at the LTO. Abenina himself has not escaped insinuations of involvement in corruption, and there are speculations that he has been eased out of his post for coddling at least one suspected coup plotter.

Whether or not there is basis for the insinuations, Abenina managed to cut red tape at the LTO, and this should be continued by his successor, former national police chief Roberto Lastimoso. Abenina’s campaign against smoke belching, however, was far less impressive, and the excuse was that the LTO lacked personnel and facilities for testing vehicular emissions. Lastimoso will have to innovate ways of improving this campaign. He may also want to review the effectivity of the drug tests that Abenina made mandatory for all drivers applying for licenses.

The LTO has been consistently viewed by the public as one of the most corrupt agencies. LTO personnel have been linked to carjacking syndicates, issuing fake registration papers for stolen vehicles. They have also been linked to insurance scams and the accreditation of fly-by-night insurance companies. There are anomalies in the manufacture and issuance of license plates. Abenina managed to address the most common complaints of people dealing with the LTO. But he barely touched the other problems that have long festered in the agency.

Any person appointed to head the LTO must be prepared to make enemies if he wants to streamline operations and rid the agency of graft and red tape. Lastimoso, who was hounded by controversy in his final days as national police chief, is no stranger to adversity. He must lose no time in cleaning up the LTO.