THE Commission on Audit is asking the Office of the Ombudsman to look into the supposed irregularities in the production of driver’s licenses at the Land Transportation Office in 2012 until 2013.
State auditors said LTO failed to observe the procurement rules and adopt a build-operate-transfer scheme of the licenses’ production, and called for a probe of a possible criminal liability of agency officials.
The commission’s Chairman Michael Aguinaldo and commissioners Jose Fabia and Isabel Agito upheld the agency’s 2013 findings of the absence of a legal basis to proceed with the production and delivery of the driver’s license cards by Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc.
Despite its expired contract with LTO in 2006, the company was able to bag P500.904 million and P239.105 million in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
CoA issued a notice of disallowances to AMPI and then LTO chief Virginia Torres, who passed away in January 2016 due to heart attack, as well as License Section chief Judith Campos, Finance and Management Division chief Irenea Nueva, Budget Section chief Ada Valdez, Accounting Section chief Asuncion Maningas, Administrative Division chief Maribel Salazar, and accountants Pernafrancia Dizon and Sheila Rodriguez. Rio N. Araja
Apart from the failure to bid out the nationwide production of the license cards, LTO also was not able to implement the BOT scheme mandating AMPI to turn over technology, machineries, buildings, equipment and furniture to the government.
“In view of violations of the BOT agreement and the seeming disadvantageous nature of the contract and its implementation, this case shall be referred to the Office of the Ombudsman for investigation and filing of appropriate charges, if warranted,” the report read.
The contract between LTO and AMPI dates back to 1984. CoA challenged LTO’s failure to demand for the turnover of AMPI’s assets to the agency under the BOT arrangement.
