BUSTED. LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II (2nd from left) and DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. (2nd from right) present the three workers of the agency who were arrested for theft of license plates, in a press briefing at the LTO main office in Quezon City on Friday (Jan. 26, 2024). Another suspect, the mastermind in the scheme, is still at large. (Screengrab from LTO Facebook video)
MANILA – Three workers in the plate-making plant of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) have been arrested for organized theft of license plates, with another suspect still at large.
In a press conference at the LTO headquarters in Quezon City on Friday, LTO–Intelligence and Investigation Division (IID) Chief Renante Melitante said the arrests were made in an operation with the Philippine National Police (PNP) after a report of suspicious activity at the plant in December.
“We immediately informed [LTO Chief, Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II] about what is happening and binigyan niya kami ng direktiba na magkaroon ng (and he gave us a directive to hold an) intelligence build-up,” Melitante said
By the first week of January, he said a witness, who is also a worker at the plant, surfaced and expressed willingness to give a testimony, in addition to the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage of the suspects.
“Sa direktiba [ni Mendoza], gumawa po tayo ng letter (Based on the directive of Mendoza, we sent a letter) to the PNP and to the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) itself for the coordination of the operation,” he said.
The license plates stolen by the suspects were “made-to-order” and had no presence in the LTO system or corresponding documents, while having the same security and authentication features as legitimate plates, making their use ideal for criminals.
After manufacturing these illegal plates, he said the suspects will hide them within the plant, while the mastermind is responsible for bringing them out of the plant.
“Itong leader nila, nakita din po sa CCTV kung paano ilabas sa planta, na tinatago at sinu-suksok sa likod. And then inilalagay po sa box ng motor niya. And then pagkatapos po, kapag off-duty na, dala-dala na niya (Their leader, he was seen on CCTV how it’s done, he’ll hide it in his back then he’ll place them at the box of his motorcycle. And after duty, he’ll bring them home),” Tan said.
The arrests were made on Thursday by members of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) and the Special Project Group of the DILG, after one of the suspects was spotted taking out some of the stolen license plates.
The three arrested suspects were not identified but were on “job order” status in addition to the alleged mastermind who is still at large.
The mastermind began working at the LTO in 2018, while the arrested suspects have been working at the LTO since 2019 and 2020.
These stolen plates, he said, can be used by criminals in the "doble plaka (double plate)" and "labas casa (outside the dealership)" schemes.
“Kumbaga mas madali na nila napapalitan yung record o yung identity ng car so it will be harder for law enforcement na habulin (They can easily change the record or identity of the car so it will be harder for law enforcement to chase these criminals),” he said.
The "doble plaka" scheme involves changing the license plate of a vehicle while the "labas casa" scheme is a scam that targets public school teachers by enticing them to apply for a pre-arranged car loan and will then steal the car once the loan is approved.
Melitante assured that the illegal activities inside the LTO’s plate-making plant will be rooted out.
Meanwhile, QCPD director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said the suspects had been threatening their fellow LTO personnel within the plate-making plant.
He said the suspects are temporarily under the custody of QCPD and will face charges of qualified theft and robbery. (with Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
