LTO director’s driver nabbed for racket as ‘fixer’

DAVAO CITY – Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested on Friday the driver of a Land Transportation Office (LTO) official here for allegedly asking vehicle owners to shell out extra cash to fast track their registration.

NBI agent Gerald Intes said Mamerto Tumpag, driver of LTO Southern Mindanao director Gomer Dy, was collared during an entrapment operation.

Intes said the entrapment operation was conducted following complaints from public utility van operators that Tumpag had been asking between P1,500 to P5,000 as “fee” to fast track the registration of their vehicles.

He said Tumpag had also been allegedly asking P200 in fee per trip from van drivers operating outside the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal here.

Intes said the NBI had suspected that Tumpag did not operate alone and that he had accomplices inside the LTO Southern Mindanao office here.

Tumpag, he said, will be charged under the Red Tape Act.

In a media statement issued on Saturday, Dy confirmed that Tumpag was his official driver.

“Although the personnel involved, Mamerto Tumpag Jr., is a driver-designate to the office of the Regional Director, his services are only on official time. Other than official, this office had no knowledge nor participation of whatever his personal activities are, legal or illegal,” Dy said.

He said he had sent a request to the NBI and the police’s Criminal Detection and Investigation Group (CIDG), as early as May, “to launch an investigation and go after individuals who are tarnishing the anti-corruption efforts of LTO-11.”

“The Land Transportation Office-Region XI has no tolerance for corruption within its office and area of responsibility,” Dy added.

He said an internal investigation was also being conducted to determine the extent of the corruption.

“This campaign is in accordance with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to ensure efficient and corruption-free government service,” Dy said.