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CEBU DAILY NEWS | THURSDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2008

COPYAEDITOR

Dennis B. Singson

LTO CHIEF’S RECOMMENDATION

‘Dismiss LTO execs linked to hot cars’ by Jolene R. Bulambot CORRESPONDENT

“I

f I have my way, I’ll have them hanged. I will have them dismissed from the service.” Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief Alberto Suansing made the comment after he recommend the dismissal of several LTO officials and personnel linked to the irregular registration of allegedly smugg led and stolen cars. Suansing yesterday told CEBU DAILY NEWS that he submitted his recommendation to Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza along with the findings of the department’s investigators. Suansing said that there was overwhelming evidence that points to a grand collusion among LTO officials not just in Cebu but also in other district offices in the country particularly in Luzon. He said his office will impose sanctions against those involved in the irregularities within the week. The LTO chief, however, refused to give details so as not to preempt the decision of Mendoza. “We have not yet issued

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

ONE of the suspected smuggled cars that were confiscated during a raid in a Makati shop. any order for preventive known to him but it will ing losses in government suspension. The investiga- not deter him from im- revenues amounting to tion is still on-going but posing the necessary sanc- millions of pesos. He said the investigawe are getting there. We tions. “At the rate that we are tors from the Department are determining the culpability of some officials and going, the scam is not only of Transportation and personnel like command in Cebu. This is something Communication (DOTC) responsibility. I will really that is very deep. Aside found out that the certifiapply the full force of the from smuggling, investi- cates of payment did not law but I need to talk with gators are also looking in- even go through the VehiSecretary Mendoza. With- to anomalies involving al- cles Monitoring Unit of in the week, our office will legedly stolen cars. It the Bureau of Customs for come out with a course of points out that there is a proper assessment. Inaction. We are not sleep- grand collusion,” he said. stead, the documents went The assistant secretary straight to the LTO ofing on our duties,” he said that several hundreds fices. said. “This is one of the Suansing said some of of certificates of payment the officials and personnel from 2004 to 2007 were al- modus operandi our ininvolved are personally legedly undervalued, caus- vestigators noticed. Cer-

CA orders Arroyo, military to answer farmers’ kin’s petition TWO divisions of the Court of Appeals (CA) have taken cognizance of the petition for and issuance of a Writ of Amparo filed by relatives of two farmers from Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental. In separate orders, the CA-Cebu stations issued a writ and ordered President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to make a return of the writ five days upon receipt. The petition filed by Rosalia Yanoc and Carmen Arante, through counsels Rex Fernandez and Noemi WRIT 35

tain processes were not followed and certain procedures were violated,” he said. Aside from the irregular registration of alleged smuggled cars, Suansing also said that the investigators also found anomalies when several cars that were registered in Central Visayas have plate numbers issued by LTO offices in Metro Manila. He said such practice is violative of the LTO policies and those found conniving to have these cars issued plate numbers assigned not in the regions where these vehicles have been registered will be punished. Lawyer Teofilo Guadiz III, head of the investigation team sent by Secretary Mendoza, in a recent interview with CEBU DAILY NEWS, said that three LTO officials were recommended to be charged administratively and criminally for the alleged irregular registration of cars. Guadiz said that his report was forwarded to Secretary Mendoza where he also recommended the investigation of other personnel for their possible involvement in the scams. He also recommended to the Secretary to centralDISMISS 35

NEWS

Ø TODAY’S WEATHER O

O

23 C to 30 C METRO CEBU Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rainshowers

METRO MANILA Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rainshowers

M E T R O D AVA O Mostly cloudy with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms

SUNRISE

SUNSET

6:22 a.m.

5:58 p.m.

M E G A LOT TO 6 / 4 5

11 17 32 29 05 20 ANY ORDER

JACKPOT PRIZE: P100,824,867.00 S U E R T R E S MID-DAY DRAW RESULT

EVENING DRAW RESULT

975

823

INSIDE 1 Main News 7 Police 8 Across The Visayas 9 Islands 10 World 11 Opinion 15 Community 17 Life 18 Bliss 20 Horoscope 21 Showbitz 22 Puzzle and Sudoku 23 Classified Ads 26 Enterprise 28 Shipping Guide 30 Sports

NBI’s help in lamppost probe mulled THE VISAYAS-Ombudsman is considering asking the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or the police to investigate if the 44 missing decorative lampposts in Mandaue City were indeed stolen. Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol yesterday told Cebu Daily News he is studying the option of asking the law enforcement agencies to investigate if indeed the controversial lampposts were stolen after they were dis-

covered missing recently. Apostol said the antigraft body was surprised to learn that some decorative lampposts installed along the old MandaueMactan bridge were removed because they were not informed about such developments. He said the officials of the Department of Public Wo r k s a n d H i g hw a y s (DPWH) as well as the contractor of the project, Fabmik Equipment and Construction Corp., did

not notify the anti-graft office of any removal even with a pending graft case against 19 government officials involved in the procurement of allegedly overpriced lampposts. “Di kami agad naniniwala sa reports sa media kaya we need to investigate. It’s possible that we will tap the NBI or the police if nakikita natin na angulo ay pagnanakaw (We don't believe media reports immediately that is why we need to investigate. It's

possible that will tap the NBI or police if we see the possibility that the lampposts were stolen),” he said. Apostol said his investigators are directing the DPWH and officials of the Mandaue City government to explain why the 44 lampposts were removed and for the officials to submit a report as to ordered the removal. Apostol said the antiNBI 35