THE Land Transportation Office here is poised to tap again the assistance of the personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) as deputies in the traffic law enforcement, this according to Bohol LTO registrar Joel Maloloy-on. But Maloloy-on, in an interview, said that there was no definite timeline when they would start the deputization of the PNP men. He said that it depends on the leadership of new Bohol police provincial director Col. Rodolfo Llorca, saying he was waiting for the latter to act based on the new memorandum on deputization. He said before the PNP can be admitted to deputization task, they should undergo a training seminar on the fundamentals of traffic law implementation. It was learned that LTO headquarters has issued a memorandum for the revival of the deputization of the PNP.

The restoration of the PNP deputies is seen as augmentation of the undermanned LTO. It will be recalled that LTO has suspended the deputization because of complaints of alleged corruption in the form of “tongs” and bribes and as protection money. The corrupt practices in the traffic enforcement have earned the owners and operators of having plying their transport services in colorum without interruption. In fact, many colorum vans for hire and tourist bus are still doing their trade without the benefit of having their transport registered with the agencies concerned. The Land Trasnportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Department of Tourism allegedly refused to register these tourism vans and buses operating here simply because they did not comply with the standards in transport services set by these agencies.