New Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao has given the registered owner of a luxury car involved in a viral incident until Monday to surrender the vehicle and its driver to the LTO main office.
Lacanilao made the pronouncement on Monday after the agency issued a show cause order on October 11 to the driver of the vehicle, directing him to explain the unauthorized use of a protocol plate and blinkers on October 8.
The LTO also identified Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary Ricky Alfonso as the passenger of the vehicle, while Lacanilao named Stanwich Philippines as its registered owner.
‘I’m giving them until the end of the day to surrender the vehicle and the driver here at the LTO main office, considering that we all know there were numerous violations committed by the vehicle, the driver, and the owner,’ Lacanilao said, speaking in Filipino, during a press conference.
‘They shouldn’t wait for the LTO to make a more drastic decision, which is why I’m giving them the entire day to comply,’ Lacanilao warned.
In a statement on Monday, the LTO said that a Lexus LX570 was seen using blinkers and a protocol plate number ’10,’ which is designated only for the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan, and Solicitors General.
The LTO added that the incident showed Alfonso’s driver and security aide confronting and allegedly slapping a driver of an Isuzu multicab after a traffic altercation.
In the same statement, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said that Alfonso apologized to him and dismissed the driver involved in the incident.
The LTO has also suspended the license of the driver for 90 days and is directed to surrender the license.
Lopez on the same day issued an order revoking the protocol license plates of officials of DOTr and its attached agencies.
Executive Order No. 56 order, issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., provides the protocol license plates numbered 1 to 11, then 14, to the following;
President (1)
Vice President (2)
Senate President (3)
Speaker of the House of Representatives (4)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (5)
Cabinet Secretaries (6)
Senators (7)
Members of the House of Representatives (8)
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court (9)
Presiding Justices of the Court of Appeals (10)
Presiding Justices of the Court of Tax Appeals (10)
Presiding Justices of the Sandiganbayan (10)
Solicitors General (10)
Chairperson of the Constitutional Commission (11)
Ombudsman (11)
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (14)
Chief of the Philippine National Police (14)
The EO also states that ‘all other officials with equivalent rank as the above-authorized officials’ may be allowed to use protocol license plates based upon the recommendation of the LTO, the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), and based on the list of all officials with equivalent rank as the above-authorized officials of the Department of Budget and Management.’ /jpv