Marcos names key transport regulators
Special Envoy for Transnational Crime Markus Lacanilao took his oath as the new chairman of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Friday, vowing to combat “corruption” in the agency.
Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez officiated the ceremony at the Department of Transportation (DOTr) office in Quezon City.
After the oathtaking, Lacanilao faced the media and said that he will focus on combating corruption in the LTO.
“First, my agenda is to fight corruption. We know the LTO, ever since we all got our licenses, registered our vehicles, there have been unnecessary fees, the people have been having a hard time. So that is the number one thing we will look into and eliminate,” he said.
“Our countrymen can count on it, especially when it comes to the rollout of license plates, which is our usual problem. We know that there are still many of our countrymen who want to get their license plates and then their licenses right away, so we will see how we can speed that up even more,” he said.
Vigor Mendoza II, in turn, replaced Teofilo Guadiz III, who has been assigned as chair of the Office of Transport Cooperatives.
At a press briefing prior to the oathtaking, Lopez said he has no insight into the reasons behind the leadership changes at DOTr and emphasized that he does not need to ask President Marcos about the recent appointments.
Lopez’s remarks came after he confirmed on Friday in a press conference that LTO chief Atty. Vigor Mendoza II will become the new Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chair, replacing Teofilo Guadiz III.
Need to know
According to Lopez, all appointees serve at the pleasure of the president; thus, they do not need to seek reasons if they will be reappointed to other government roles.
“There doesn’t need to be a reason. I don’t need to know the reason for the change,” Lopez said.
“I didn’t ask, and I won’t ask for a reason. As I said, we are all appointed officials,” he added.
The acting DOTr chief, meanwhile, noted that the criteria in appointing someone are “the trust and the confidence of the appointing authority over the appointee.”
He then said that he is confident that all newly appointed officials have credible backgrounds and strong credentials to do well in their posts.
