By Alec Go
Jose Arturo Tugade resigned from his position as the chief of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), citing differences in the methods of the LTO and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
His resignation statement was shared by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Monday, May 22.
“Even as DOTR and LTO both aim to succeed in serving the public, our methods to achieve that success differ. For this reason, I am stepping down, so [DOTr] Sec. Jimmy Bautista will have the free hand to choose who he can work best with,” he said.
“I will continue to root for the LTO’s success even as a private citizen, because I will always share in Sec. Bautista’s belief that our offices can be a formidable force for good in our country,” he added.
Bautista thanked Tugade for his seven-month service as assistant secretary of the agency and as chief of the LTO.
“We will submit to the Office of the President our recommendation of an LTO Chief who can display the same fervor, while aligning efforts to the mission of this Department,” his statement read.
Meanwhile, Senate committee on public services chairperson Senator Grace Poe said the change in the LTO leadership should not compromise its work and obligations.
“As it is, the LTO is left with a small elbow room to produce the plastic cards for licenses to avert a massive shortage. We expect the new leadership will make this a priority, together with clearing up existing backlogs such as vehicle license plates,” she added.
Recently, the LTO announced that there is a shortage in plastic card supply for the printing of driver’s licenses, prompting it to give paper copies to licensed drivers nationwide.
Tugade said they had been made aware of the issue in November last year.
“Sometime in January, when we were ready to procure the licenses, we received a department order whereby the department order instructed us that all procurement involving P50 million and above shall be conducted by the DOTr Central Office,” he said.
In a separate statement, the DOTr said it was working to expedite the cards purchase “after LTO’s failure to undertake early procurement activities in compliance with existing rules.” – gb
