DAGUPAN CITY — Members of a syndicate behind the issuance of fake driver’s license cards are now the subject of a massive manhunt by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Pangasinan.
This, after LTO Region 1 confiscated five fake driver’s license cards from separate motorcycle drivers along the highways in a span of just one week.
The drivers, who possessed the fake license cards, were stopped by LTO agents and their deputized enforcers along the highways for not wearing the mandatory crash helmet.
When asked by the agents to show their license, the drivers handed the fake driver’s license cards.
The LTO agents, however, noticed the discrepancies between the fake license and the genuine, so the apprehended drivers were invited to police station for questioning.
LTO Region I Director Teofilo Guadiz III considers this as a very serious matter because the fake driver’s license cards appear similar to the genuine ones.
He, however, still refused to identify the drivers as they are still undergoing investigation by the LTO and the NBI.
It was learned that a computer shop in Pangasinan from where these driver’s license cards may have been sourced out is now under surveillance by the authorities.
A report said a fake driver’s license card is being sold by the syndicate from PHP10,000 to PHP20,000 each.ht
The genuine ones from the LTO cost no more than P500 provided the driver applicant has already complied with all the requirements.
The LTO and NBI are still determining how many drivers in Pangasinan and Region 1 fell victim to the syndicate.
The LTO said persons or entities behind the manufacture or printing of fake driver’s license cards will be slapped with numerous criminal cases in court.
A driver possessing a fake license will only be fined PHP10,000 and cannot obtain driver’s license from the LTO for a period of two years. (Ahicam Pasion/PNA)
