The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is investigating an enforcer in Trento town in Agusan del Sur, accused of extorting ‘grease money’ from a truck driver.
LTO Chair Markus V. Lacanilao has issued a show-cause order (SCO) directing the personnel of the LTO Trento Extension Office to submit a written explanation about the allegation that he asked for a P1,000 bribe from a truck driver for violating LTO rules.
Lacanilao’s statement posted on the LTO’s social media page stemmed from a viral post by a user identified as Bondoc Ricardo, who showed a truck driver complaining that the LTO personnel allegedly demanded P1,000 to spare him from being cited for a supposed violation he committed.
The Tagalog-speaking truck driver told a local radio station here that the LTO enforcer demanded a P1,300 fine from him for not wearing a company uniform.
He pleaded to pay only P300, but the enforcer allegedly demanded P1,000 but did not issue a citation ticket.
‘I was so angry about that experience that I posted what I felt (on social media),’ the driver said.
In the video that went viral on social media, the driver could be heard protesting what he described as fabricated violations by the apprehending officers. The alleged incident reportedly occurred along a highway in Trento, Agusan del Sur.
But LTO Trento head Greg Patrick Pabilonio denied in a radio interview that the LTO personnel asked any ‘grease’ money from the truck driver.
He said the personnel found out that the driver was only wearing slippers and shorts, a violation of LTO rules.
Lacanilao said the bribery act, if proven, constitutes a clear violation of the 2025 Rules on Administrative Cases of the Civil Service.
He warned the concerned LTO personnel that failure to respond within the prescribed period would be deemed a waiver of his right to answer or contest the allegations and that the agency would decide the case based solely on available evidence