00:01Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Vigor Mendoza II and Office of Transportation Cooperative's Chief Jojo Guadis III are
00:09under preventive suspension for six months.
00:11Both used to head the Land Transportation Office.
00:14They are accused of allowing the continued use of an outdated IT system which resulted in motorists being charged billions
00:20of pesos in excess fees.
00:21The Office of the Ombudsman says Tuesday, August 18, the two officials let a Stradcom Corporation-operated system run alongside
00:28the government's newer Land Transportation Management System, or LTMS.
00:32In April 2024, Rappler reported that this parallel setup left room for fraud.
00:37The Ombudsman's order and the Commission on Audit report said motorists were charged an additional 13.3 billion pesos in
00:45computer fees from 2019 to 2025.
00:47The COA adds, it resulted in the non-maximization of the benefits expected from the LTMS project.
00:54After its rollout in 2021, the LTMS became the government's principal platform for vehicle registration, driver's licensing, and other LTO
01:02transactions.
01:03The agency was supposed to gradually transition away from the Stradcom-operated system.
01:08But the Ombudsman found Guadis and Mendoza continued to support the use of the old system.
01:13During Guadis' stint as LTO chief in 2022, the Ombudsman said he pushed for the continued use of the LTO
01:20IT system and favored Stradcom.
01:22Guadis reportedly said the old system provides a better solution.
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