President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. has suspended Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Teofilo 'Jojo' Guadiz III following the reports of alleged corruption inside the agency, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced on Monday, Oct. 9.
In a press statement posted on its official Facebook page, PCO said Marcos ordered Guadiz's suspension as he "does not tolerate any misconduct in his administration."
"He strongly condemns dishonesty and duplicity in public service," it added.
The communications agency said the President has directed an "immediate investigation" into the alleged corruption.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista said the probe into the issue has been launched.
He added that Guadiz has been ordered to explain the alleged irregularities.
“We do not tolerate any form of corruption in the DOTr and will not hesitate to impose the stiffest sanction if the evidence so warrants,” Bautista underscored.
During a press briefing on Monday afternoon, transport group Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon (Manibela) presented Jeffrey Tumbado, former Executive Assistant of the LTFRB chairman, who exposed that there were illegal transactions in the agency.
He said "ruta for sale" and "special permit for sale" was among these illegal transactions.
"Kung operator ka at gusto mo makuha ang daan na ito lalo na sa probinsya, mag re-request ka. Pero kapag gusto mo mapadali, gusto mo mapasaiyo iyan kahit hindi pwede, eh hanapin mo ako," Tumbado said.
He mentioned that LTFRB officials had ordered him to immediately take care of the requests.
"Pinapaki-suyo sa akin, paki-suyo na asikasuhin mo. Ayun hanggang sa halos araw-araw ay mangyayari na ganyan. Ako ang nilalapitan ako at ako ang binubulungan," he said.
The former Executive Assistant said operators voluntarily pay in every transaction, and the amount reaches to as big as ₱5 million.
"Maglalagay [ng pera] kapalit ng papel. Kumbaga, priority ka," he said.
Tumbado said he would soon formally file complaints such as graft and corruption and violation of ease of doing business before the Office of the Ombudsman.
In an official statement, Guadiz said the LTFRB is open for any probe on the reported corruption.
"Kagaya nga po ng dati na nating ginagawa, patuloy po nating aayusin at titiyakin na mananatili tayong patas sa paglilingkod sa ating mga stakeholder," he said.
"As of this morning, nasa opisina naman ako at wala pa po akong nalalaman na anumang opisyal na inihain laban po sa atin pero kung mayroon man, haharapin naman po natin ito dahil malinis po ang ating kalooban," the LTFRB Chief added.
