Facade of LTO building. Photo from LTO website
MANILA, Philippines — As part of its preparations for the Holy Week, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Wednesday deployed teams from its Law Enforcement Service (LES) to conduct preemptive operations in Regions 1 to 3, and in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to ensure road safety.
According to LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante, seven teams will be deployed in these areas three weeks before the Lenten season “to ensure that our roads are safe, especially during the Holy Week and summer vacation when there is an expected huge volume of travelers going to the provinces.”
The LTO has already deployed teams to man the same operations in Regions IV-A, IV-B, 5, 6, 7, 8, and in Mindanao.
The move is part of LTO’s thrust to increase “visibility in the regions to ensure motorists’ compliance to various transport and traffic laws, rules and regulations, thus prevent road crashes.”
As of Wednesday, the teams deployed in Centro Occidental, Polangui, in Albay have flagged down 26 trucks for violating Republic Act 8794 or the Anti-Truck Overloading Act, while seven drivers were apprehended for violating RA 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013.
The operations are being conducted in cooperation with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Philippine National Police (PNP) Highway Patrol Group (HPG), and PNP Crime Lab.
The LTO also said it will field 50 enforcers to operate in terminals in Metro Manila on March 31, while about 300 LTO enforcers will be deployed to the 17 regions of the country.