The Land Transportation Office (LTO) spared no one and ordered all its enforcers nationwide to undergo a refresher course following the manhandling issue, involving five of its officers in Panglao, Bohol that went viral.
“The incident that happened in Bohol calls for a deeper and systematic approach to ensure that this will not happen again in the future. So, we will be holding retraining for all LTO enforcers nationwide, and it’s mandatory,” LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said on Sunday.
Mendoza said he has already instructed the head and personnel of the LTO Law Enforcement Service to come up with an updated version of the protocol to be observed in enforcing traffic rules and regulations.
The retraining program shall focus on observing human rights and proper procedures in implementing road safety regulations.
The order stemmed from the viral video of alleged manhandling of five LTO enforcers on a motorcycle rider, who supposedly yielded a knife when he was apprehended in Panglao.
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon ordered the immediate preventive suspension of all LTO personnel involved in the incident. He earlier ordered the temporary suspension of deployment of LTO enforcers in Bohol, pending the result of the investigation.
Corrective measures are now being conducted, and part of them is the conduct of a retraining program for all LTO enforcers. Mendoza said they would seek the assistance of the Philippine National Police in crafting new guidelines for LTO personnel.