In the past, whenever there is talk of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) attempting to get rid of red tape, one of the frequent side comments on the subject is the Filipino idiom suntok sa buwan (punch the moon), which means it's impossible.
However, just a few days ago, the lead government agency tasked with regulating the traffic laws of the land was mentioned by the Anti-Red Tape Agency's (ARTA) top man, Director General, Atty. Jeremiah Belgica, as one of the “most improved” government agencies.
This came after the President, Rodrigo Duterte, threatened to “kill” or disband government agencies that will not reform or eliminate red tape in their offices during his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July.
LTO Chief, Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante
“Going back to the five most complained agencies, this I could say: Three or almost four of them are actually reform-minded ang kanilang leaders (are actually led by reform-minded leaders.) Nakikita po namin na (We are noticing that) from 100% complaints from 2018, we have actually lowered it down already to about 15%,” Belgica told reporters.
Belgica further elaborated that since the LTO's implementation of its automated payment system about two months ago, the agency has already hit its P1-billion mark in terms of collections from the new system. This led Belgica to conclude in Filipino that “they [LTO] have no fixers.”
On the other hand, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), which is responsible for promulgating, administering, enforcing, and monitoring compliance of policies, laws, and regulations of public land transportation services, was named among the top three agencies with the most red tape incidents by the ARTA.
