DOTr suspends LTO personnel who manhandled farmer
TAGBILARAN CITY—Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon ordered the immediate preventive suspension of all Land Transportation Office (LTO) personnel who manhandled a farmer in Bohol’s town of Panglao last Friday.
“This will remain in effect pending the completion of a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the event,” Dizon said in a statement Saturday.
He added the Department of Transportation (DOTr) will provide more details as the investigation progresses.
The LTO in Central Visayas (Region 7) also withdrew all field enforcement officers from the area and suspended all enforcement operations pending a full investigation into the matter.
The incident, which has been caught on video and has gone viral after it was posted on Friday, showed that at least five members of an “LTO Flying Squad,” who were all from LTO-7 regional office based in Cebu and sent to Bohol, pulled and dragged Bert Velasco in Barangay Tawala in Panglao on Friday morning.
One of the enforcers held Velasco by the neck before he was dragged out of his motorcycle after they found a knife tucked on his back.
He tried to explain that he was a farmer but he was still dragged to a vehicle and arrested.
Pullout order
Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado, who saw the video, asked LTO-7 director Glen Galario to pull out their personnel from the province.
Aumentado said the personnel involved would have to face the Provincial Board for an investigation.
In the video, a seemingly intoxicated Velasco crossed the street and approached a group of LTO personnel in Barangay Tawala.
An argument ensued. Velasco went back to his motorcycle but was followed by five LTO personnel. One of them argued with Velasco who was already riding on his motorcycle while another conducted a body search.
When he found a long knife tucked on his back, the unidentified LTO personnel held him by the neck and pinned him on the motorcycle.
“P*tang ina mo (Son of b*tch). Why are you bring a knife…” the LTO personnel was heard shouting before dragging Velasco off his motorcycle.
“I’m a farmer, I’m a farmer. I am just an ordinary individual,” Velasco tried to explain in Cebuano but his pleas were not heard.
Instead, he was dragged into a vehicle and brought to the police station where he was detained.
Probe launched
Galario, in a statement, apologized for the incident which he called an “unfortunate turn of events.”
However, Velasco remained w in police custody pending filing of the charges against him, said Galario.
“LTO 7 takes any allegations of improper conduct seriously. As such, we are launching an immediate investigation into the actions of the LTO 7 Field Enforcement Officers involved in the incident,” he said.
Galario said investigation would be conducted in accordance with established procedures, and any officer found to have acted outside of protocol would be held accountable.
He assured that LTO-7 would be transparent and would hold those liable to maintain the trust of the public.
