Senate probes alleged anomalies in LTO’s P3.1B IT project

LTO logo over its building. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Thursday began probing alleged anomalies hounding the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

LTO officials faced the Senate blue ribbon and public services committees, answering the allegations of corruption surrounding its P3.19-billion Road Information Technology (IT) infrastructure project.

Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel and Senator Imee Marcos pressed for the investigation by separately filing resolutions.

They sought a probe into the alleged “undue” or “unjust” payments given by LTO to the joint venture of Dermalog Identification System, Holy Family Printing Corp., Microgenesis, and Verzontal Builders.

READ: Pimentel seeks Senate probe on LTO’s ‘undue payment’ to IT provider

An inquiry brief from the Senate said both resolutions took note of a 2021 Commission on Audit report, which found that Dermalog supposedly did not fully deliver on its end of the project.

The resolutions of Pimentel and Marcos sought to look into “unresolved issues” that may have caused the sluggish processing of documents in securing driver’s licenses, as well as the inaccuracies in the database of the Dermalog-made Land Transportation Management System.

“An investigation is, therefore, necessary for LTO to clarify and explain the details of the full payment made to its IT provider despite unresolved issues, which are now affecting its services,” the brief said.

The lingering issues, it noted, may lead to a violation of the procurement and auditing rules that may be injurious to the government and the whole country.

According to the brief, the Senate probe’s talk points will cover the following:

• Review of process and rationale behind the full payment made by LTO to its IT provider despite unresolved issues
• Individuals involved in the questionable transaction or contract
• Assessment of benefits or drawbacks of the joint venture on the overall customer experience of LTO
• Evaluation of the overall operational efficiency of the IT infrastructure project of LTO
• Review of contracts and agreements entered upon by LTO and its IT provider.

APL