DOTr names comms exec Hector Villacorta as LTO officer-in-charge

Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista (left) administers the oath of office to Hector Villacorta, the newly designated acting officer-in-charge of the Land Transportation Office. Undated photo from the Department of Transportation

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has named its communications department deputy chief Hector Villacorta as the Land Transportation Office (LTO) officer-in-charge.

Villacorta will replace Jose Arturo Tugade, who resigned last week as the agency’s chief.

In a text message on Wednesday, the LTO confirmed to INQUIRER.net that DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista had designated Villacorta as the LTO’s OIC.

Villacorta was Assistant Secretary for the DOTr’s Communications Department before his latest assignment at the LTO.

During the turnover at the LTO, Bautisat said Villacorta will serve as the OIC while awaiting permanent appointment from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Villacorta, for his part, assured the DOTr chief that he will focus on critical issues hounding the LTO.

“This is not just a transition but a continuation of the efforts done by the LTO all these many decades,” he said.

“We give you an institution where personalities may change but we will carry on. With the dawn in this office, we will never forget those who helped through the night,” added the former Commission on Appointments (CA) Secretary of previous Senate Presidents Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Vicente Sotto III. Villacorta also served as a chief of staff of Sotto.

On May 22, Tugade announced he had stepped down as LTO chief saying: “Even as DOTr and LTO both aim to succeed in serving the public, our methods to achieve that success differ. For this reason, I am stepping down, so Sec. Jimmy Bautista will have the free hand to choose who he can work best with.”

The son of former DOTr chief Arthur Tugade became the LTO head in November 2022. He faced several issues, including the shortage of plastic cards for driver’s licenses and vehicle license plates – a problem hounding the agency even before Jose Arturo took the helm.

Jose Arturo Tugade’s resignation as LTO chief will take effect on Thursday, June 1.

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