“It’s not you; it’s me.” How many times have we heard this line over a bad breakup? Or worse, how many times have we said it in our defense? Isn’t it just a convenient excuse to end a relationship that’s gone sour?
But what if there’s a ring of truth to it? What if we really have significant shortcomings or irreconcilable differences? What if we’re not just a good fit?
Just last July 19th, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed a new Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief in what seemed to be a surprise move that no one knew was coming. Lawyer Vigor de Dios Mendoza II was handed over the reins of one of the most sensitive agencies of the government.
Vigor, who? We can’t blame you for asking the same question. We did, too, when we found out about the appointment.
In the Estrada administration, Atty. Mendoza was a member of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board, or the LTFRB, an agency attached to the Department of Transportation. Reports also mentioned that he was a former member of the House of Representatives representing the 1-UTAK or United Transport Alliance Koalisyon.
By the looks of it, he is wellversed in transportation issues because of his previous associations. However, we wonder if the instability brought about by the multiple leadership changes in the LTO will benefit the agency and, indeed, the millions of Filipinos it serves in the long run.
The LTO head takes on the title of Assistant Secretary of the Department of Transportation. This administration has had five gentlemen at the top of the LTO’s roster. From LTO executive director Romeo Vera Cruz as OIC to former Land Transportation Office (LTO) Region 1 Director Teofilo E. Guadiz III. Then, the high-profile appointment of former Department of Transportation Secretary Art Tugade’s son, Jose Arturo M. Tugade, until his surprise resignation led to Officer-in-Charge Hector Villacorta taking over. And now, Asec Vigor Mendoza III..
These changes happened in one year, as if long-term relationships aren’t a thing anymore in this agency. And to think the LTO has been beset by controversy after another with no long-term solution in sight for each. And these solutions can only be implemented by someone who can see them through over a long period of time.
From the backlog in license plates to the non-delivery of registration stickers (who knows if we’ll ever receive those despite us paying for them), and now the shortage of driver’s license cards. And what about the Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Center fiasco? Who’s going to answer that?
There are also the constantly changing requirements for driver’s license registration, the official receipts printed on bond paper, the shoddy record-keeping, and the untouchable fixers who have seemingly survived one LTO chief after another, like cockroaches living through a nuclear holocaust.
All these are still demanding resolutions from the agency’s hard-working career personnel and the politically-appointed heads, who we fear might be in over their heads when it comes to handling the agency’s problems and the festering office culture. Did they even know what they were getting into when they were offered the position? We dare ask.
But like any new relationship, let’s give each party, in this case, the LTO and Asec Mendoza, the benefit of the doubt — a honeymoon period, if you will. Who knows, they might hit it off and blossom into a blissful relationship that resolves the LTO’s issues and makes the public’s dealing with this agency a welcome breeze.
But then again, that could be wishful thinking as we wait for what the new LTO chief will bring to the table. Let’s hope it won’t be another sour breakup that can inspire another Taylor Swift song. Because, frankly, we know this game all too well.
