8 gov’t cars illegally used

Malacañang has sent the first batch of “love letters” to erring officials who have illegally used government vehicles.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday the Land Transportation Office (LTO), in its initial report, found eight red plate vehicles being used for personal errands by local government officials, goccs as well as certain state workers.

Ermita said he has sent a memorandum to the heads of the concerned government agencies, including the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), on behalf of the local governments, seeking an explanation on the abuse of government vehicles.

Ermita said he expects the concerned government agencies to impose sanctions against the violators, particularly in confiscating the government-issued vehicles from them.

He, however, did not identify the government officials found exploiting such motor vehicles for fetching their children from schools and for shopping in malls and markets. SBMA officials are reported to be rampant violators of this rule.

Ermita earlier asked LTO chief Ann Lontoc to monitor and report to his office the unauthorized use of government vehicles.

Lontoc has deployed field personnel initially around schools where government vehicles are reportedly used for delivering and fetching students.

Officials to whom vehicles are issued would be identified through LTO records and their names would be forwarded to the Office of the Executive Secretary.

The President has ordered a strict implementation of the trip ticket rule in the use of government vehicles as part of the cost-cutting plan in the bureaucracy.

A rigid monitoring system of government motor pools, particularly in the allocation and issuance of gasoline coupons, would be implemented to ensure compliance to the prohibitions