By Tracy Cabrera
BATASAN, Quezon City — The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has placed Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Vigor Mendoza II and Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) chief Teofilo Guadiz III under preventive suspension for six months for their involvement in the continued use of the Stradcom-operated LTO information technology system (LTO-IT).
According to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla, the suspension order stemmed from the two officials acts as former chiefs of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) that led to the use of the system, which resulted in an additional ₱P13.3 billion in computer fees.
Remulla cited that Commission on Audit (CoA) findings, which flagged the continued parallel use of the two systems for “non-maximization of the benefits” expected from the LTMS project.
The auditing body also found that the dual use of two systems caused an “additional burden and expense for the transacting public” since the computer fees charged by Stradcom reached ₱13.3 billion from 2019 to 2025.
The ombudsman disclosed that “there were sufficient grounds to suspend Mendoza and Guadiz as there were strong evidence of their guilt in charges of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.”
“The continued utilization of the LTO-IT system (. . .) demonstrates a patent disregard of established government policy and prior official directives intended to transition LTO operations to the LTMS,” he pointed out.
In reaction, Mendoza, who has yet to receive a copy of the preventive suspension order, enthused that he respects the OMB’s decision in relation to its ongoing investigation.
“I have yet to see the copy of the official order and once received, this will serve as the basis to reiterate my position and present evidence-backed legal arguments that all my actions when I was still the LTO chief were all for the protection and interest of not only the motorists but also the Filipino people,” he cited.
“This will be a good opportunity for me to prove it, and eventually clear my name, in the proper forum,” LTFRB’s chair added.
In the meantime, Department of Transportation (DoTr) secretary Giovanni ‘Banoy’ Lopez expressed his respect over the decision regarding the preventive suspension of Mendoza and Guadiz.
“(We) will comply with the ombudsman’s order,” Lopez took note while announcing that “the LTFRB and OTC will remain fully operational even as essential services will continue to be delivered efficiently and without interruption.”
The transportation chief likewise asserted that “the DOTr will continue to cooperate with the Office of the Ombudsman and uphold the principles of accountability, transparency and due process in the performance of our mandate.”
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