Plaint filed against 17 LTO agents
A complaint was filed yesterday against two regular agents and 15 deputized personnel of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for “illegally” arresting a Filipino-American man who drove a Starex Van last March 1.
Charges of unlawful arrest, grave coercion, robbery, grave misconduct, and falsification were lodged before the LTO against the respondents whose identities have yet to be established.
Assisted by lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna, the vehicle owner Maria Grizelda Tan and Filipino-American Jose Cala Romero requested the LTO to release the names of the respondents and return the vehicle license plates which were taken from their Starex Van.
The complainants said the respondents, most of whom are members of the Task Force Alpha, ripped off the license plates of Tan’s vehicle last March 1, 2013.
Dela Cerna asked the LTO to disband Task Force Alpha, which he said are civilians who “go around like a pack of wolves without proper uniforms.”
“They have no government mandate nor are they bound by government rules. Our is not the first complaint against the task force,” the lawyer said.
In his affidavit, Romero said he was driving Tan’s Starex Van with plate number YAB-858 when motorcycle-riding men flagged him down.
Romero said he along with his four American friends were then on their way to Cebu City to have dinner.
Fearing for their safety and thinking that the respondents were kidnappers, Romero said he gave his driver’s license and registration when the respondents asked for them.
He said he also didn’t know why they were stopped. He said the respondents ripped off the van’s plate number when he refused to remove it. Out of fear, he was also forced to sign a ticket from one of the respondents
He was surprised when read the ticket that his violation was for driving a Rent-A-Car vehicle and for charging P3,500 per person.
Romero said that the vehicle wasn’t for rent and he only borrowed it from Tan. /Reporter Ador Vincent S. Mayol
