7 LTO Enforcers Caught with Extortion Activities Against 10 Van Drivers Face Charges
Seven (7) Land Transportation Office (LTO) enforcers face charges after they were allegedly involved in extortion activities against 10 van drivers.
Seven members of the LTO-NCR (National Capital Region) have been charged with extortion after being involved in the alleged extortion of colorum van drivers. Colorum vans heading to Luzon, Bicol, and Visayas are being targeted by strange enforcers.
After one of their victims complained, the oddity erupted. The enforcers are John Vincent Ssaguil, Ramsid Nasilum, Richard Baldeo, Ariel Andres, King Nicolas, Gilbert Tenorio, and John Marbida, according to the report.
LTO enforcers nabbed 10 van drivers along EDSA at 1:00 a.m., according to the National Bureau of Investigation-Special Action Unit (NBI-SAU). According to the victim’s statement, they were required to pay P20,000 each to have their vans released.
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Based on the sworn declaration of one of the drivers, NBI-SAU executive officer lawyer Jerome Bomediano learned that the payment was made within the LTO office. According to the victim, his van was seized after he failed to pay the fine sought by the enforcers.
The other drivers, on the other hand, were able to get their cars back after paying a total of P180,000. According to Bomediano, the traffic enforcers were not official LTO workers and were simply operating on a contractual basis, based on the NBI’s investigation.
The LTO enforcers said they got mission orders from the regional director of the organization. Even if the van drivers were driving “colorum” or without a franchise, according to Bomediano, the LTO enforcers had no power to apprehend them.
“Under the law, apprehending the van drivers should be the responsibility of the LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board) because they committed a franchise violation,” he said.
Aside from extortion charges, the LTO enforcers could also be charged with usurpation of authority, Bomediano said. The extortionist enforcers will also face dismissal and could no longer work in government offices.
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