A MULTISECTORAL coalition has blasted the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for reportedly using an information technology (IT) system of a company whose contract has already ended.
The contract reportedly has expired in at least five regions in the country.
Coalition 169 said the continued rollout of Stradcom’s IT system in Regions 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), 10 (Northern Mindanao), 11 (Davao Region), 12 (Soccsksargen) and Caraga must first have the approval of the Department of Economy, Planning and Development.
“Worse, it appears that no clearance has been disclosed for deployment on government-owned workstations,” Coalition 169 spokesman Johnny Gomez said in a press conference in Quezon City on Thursday.
Coalition convenors Rene Santiago and Bernard Yu told reporters that a DepDev approval was a critical safeguard to ensure the public is not charged excessive fees for services delivered under a Build, Own, Operate arrangement.
They said that nongovernment quick response (QR) code domains are being used in official LTO transactions handled through Stradcom.
“With this, public information could be exposed to data privacy and cybersecurity risks if processed outside official state-controlled digital infrastructure,” Santiago and Yu said.
Gomez said that no action was made on the case his group filed before the Office of the Ombudsman on May 4, 2026, against current and former transport officials, including ex-Transportation chief and now Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon over alleged irregularities tied to LTO’s continued use of Stradcom’s IT system.
In the complaint, the group questioned the continued collection of a P169 “computer fee” from motorists.
Gomez and his group alleged that some transport officials were protecting Stradcom, whose contract expired in February 2013.
They estimated that the fee has generated around P2 billion to P3 billion annually since Feb. 10, 2013, amounting to billions of pesos collected from motorists and other LTO clients.
“While P169.06 per transaction may appear minimal, its cumulative impact is significant. Across millions of transactions annually, this represents a substantial financial burden on Filipino motorists,” they said.
Besides Dizon, other respondents include Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez, ex-Transportation chief Jaime Bautista, Transportation Undersecretary Ramon Reyes, ex-undersecretaries Jesus Ferdinand Ortega and Mark Steven Pastor, LTO chief Markus Lacanilao, former LTO chiefs Vigor Mendoza II and Teofilo Guadiz III, and Stradcom president Anthony Quiambao.
The coalition said it has sought the preventive suspension of incumbent officials for up to six months.
Gomez said his group would continue to pursue legal remedies and public accountability until the issue was resolved.
The Times tried to get comments from the agency but received no reply. An agency source said top LTO officials would issue a statement soon.
