A group filed a graft complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman against former and current officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) for contracting a private IT company that imposed fees for services like vehicle registration.

Aside from a case of graft, Coalition 169 sought for charges of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service to be filed against the respondents.

Among the individuals cited in the complaint were former DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon, former LTO Chief Vigor Mendoza, DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez, LTO Chief Markus Lacanilao, and Stradcom President Anthony Quiambao.

The group alleged that the LTO unlawfully favored Stradcom Corporation as the agency’s IT company and that its imposed P169 computer fee was questionable.

Stradcom worked for the LTO from 2013 to 2023 where it allegedly garnered P2 to P3 billion annually from the contract, an amount that the coalition sought to be returned to motorists.

It also sought for the Ombudsman to conduct a preliminary investigation on the incident and to issue a preventive suspension on the cited officials for a period no longer than six months.

In a statement regarding the accusation, Lopez said that the DOTr and the LTO were actively pursuing ways to fix their systems in a way that provides reliable service to the public.

“Although we have not received the complaint, Secretary Lopez is confident that the DOTr and the LTO are prepared to face the case in the proper forum,” the DOTr said in a statement.