The Land Transportation Office warned the public anew about online fixers who are pretending to work for the agency.
In a post on Wednesday, October 19, the LTO uploaded screenshots of posts and pages from these individuals who offer bogus driver’s license services to motorists for a fee.
“Pinaaalalahanan ng Land Transportation Office (LTO) ang publiko na mag-ingat sa mga online fixer at scammer lalo na sa mga nagpapanggap bilang mga kawani ng ahensya,” LTO said.
“Bukod sa ito’y ilegal, maaaring magamit pa ang inyong mga personal na detalye sa masamang Gawain,” it added.
In the images, LTO showed three pages that offer “LTO Drivers License Assistance” on social media.
Each page also has thousands of followers and members. One of them has 72,000 followers and 70,000 likes.
The other two images on LTO’s post showed posts from concerned users who are warning others about some suspected scammers.
The transport office also warned the public about these in its advisory.
LTO stated that those who pretend to offer services could face punishments under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code for Swindling (Estafa) charges.
They can also be held liable under Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
This law amends the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.
In Section 4 of the measure, red tape refers to “any regulation, rule, or administrative procedure or system that is ineffective or detrimental in achieving its intended objectives and, as a result, produces slow, suboptimal, and undesirable social outcomes.”
LTO reminded the public to only visit its nearby offices or visit its official social media channels to prevent becoming victims of these fraudulent acts.
This advisory, however, was met with criticisms from several social media users who alleged that fixers are found inside LTO’s offices.
“Punta po kayo sa mga sangay ng LTO, lantaran ang kawatan. Lalo na po yung napirma sa inspection. Galit pa kapag ayos saksayan [mo]. Kapag may problema, masaya,” one Facebook user claimed.
“Kahit na anong linis sa governo na mawala ang mga fixer, mismo sa loob sa LTO nagtratrabaho ang mga fixer lantaran pa halos lahat na branch sa LTO,” another user commented.
Other online users also called on LTO to improve its processes to prevent Filipinos from resorting to illegal transactions.
“Paano di ka mapipilitan pumatol sa fixer, kung inaayos niyo lang ba yung sistema niyo diuan sa LTO. Sobra pahirap niyo sa mga tao,” one Facebook user commented.
LTO has also previously released a rundown of suspicious Facebook pages that are offering illegal services for driver’s licenses and other transactions.
READ: Rundown: FB pages flagged by LTO for offering bogus driver’s license services