BY CHRIS PANGANIBAN
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has launched an investigation into a law enforcement team leader assigned in Trento town in Agusan del Sur after he was accused of extorting “grease money” from a truck driver.
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Markus V. Lacanilao issued a show cause order (SCO) directing the personnel of the LTO Trento Extension Office to submit a written explanation within five days of receiving the directive.
Lacanilao’a warning was posted in the Land Transportation Office-Philippines social media page on Nov. 7.
The probe stemmed from a viral social media post by a user identified as Bondoc Ricardo, which showed a truck driver complaining that LTO personnel allegedly demanded ₱1,000 in exchange for not issuing a citation for supposed traffic violations.
In a mobile phone live interview, the Tagalog-speaking truck driver told Rey Suravasquez, station manager of X FM San Francisco, that the LTO enforcer that his violation was not wearing a company uniform and allegedly demanded a P1,300 fine.
He pleaded to pay only P300, but the enforcer allegedly demanded P1,000 but never issued a citation ticket.
“Galit na galit ako sa nangyari sa akin kaya pinost ko ang ako damdamin sa ginawa nila sa akin (I was so mad that I posted what I felt to what they’ve done to me,” the driver told Suravasquez.
The driver was on his way to Davao City from Manila when they were taking a lunch at an eatery in Trento when the two LTO enforcers approached him.
In the video, 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, told XFM in another interview that his men did not asked for “grease money from the driver.
He said his men found out that the driver was only wearing a slepper and shorts which is a violation for drivers.
Lacanilao said the act, if proven, constitutes a clear violation of the 2025 Rules on Administrative Cases of the Civil Service.
He also warned the concerned LTO enforcer 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.
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