Transportation officials face graft complaint

A transport advocacy group filed a graft complaint Monday at the Office of the Ombudsman against current and former transportation officials, alleging they unlawfully favored a private IT contractor that collected billions in “questionable” fees from motorists.

Coalition 169 is seeking charges of graft, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service against several high-ranking officials.

The complaint names Department of Transportation (DoTr) Secretary Giovanni Lopez, Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Markus Lacanilao, former DoTr Secretary Vince Dizon, former LTO chief Vigor Mendoza and Stradcom president Anthony Quiambao.

The group alleged that the Land Transportation Office unlawfully favored Stradcom Corp. as its IT provider from 2013 to 2023. The complaint centers on a P169 computer fee imposed on services such as vehicle registration, which the coalition claims allowed the company to garner between P2 billion and P3 billion annually.

The coalition is calling for the return of these funds to motorists. It has also asked the Ombudsman to conduct a preliminary investigation and issue a preventive suspension of up to six months for the cited officials.