OPERATIVES of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) have arrested three suspected fixers at Land Transportation Office (LTO) offices in Manila and Quezon City.
ARTA Secretary Ernesto Perez said the operation was done in coordination with the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
In a simultaneous entrapment on June 29, ARTA agents caught the suspects at LTO’s West Manila District Office and East Avenue Central Office.
Perez said the transactions involved the processing of a student driver’s permit and the conversion of a student permit to a non-professional driver’s license.
“These successful operations highlight ARTA’s intensified campaign against fixers who exploit the public and compromise the integrity of government services,” said Perez.
He cited Republic Act 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, which explicitly penalizes fixing as a criminal act.
The same law defines fixers as persons who, for a fee, facilitate transactions outside official procedures, and imposes fines and imprisonment on violators.
“ARTA would remain steadfast in enforcing RA 11032, ensuring that government transactions in the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ are efficient, transparent, and free from red tape,” Perez said.