LTO impounds unregistered buses linked to Chavit Singson

The Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) on Tuesday said that two buses belonging to a certain politician were confirmed to be unregistered, prompting the agency to impound the vehicles.

While the LTO did not explicitly state who the politician in question was, the face of former Ilocos Sur governor and businessman Chavit Singson is prominently displayed on the two buses.

The LTO blocked the two unregistered vehicles on Sunday, July 19, as these were headed towards Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila. Authorities noticed the two buses were using improvised plates when they were traveling.

“Hindi natin titingnan kung sino ang may-ari o operator ng sasakyan. Ang titingnan natin ay kung sumusunod ba ito sa batas. Ang paggamit ng improvised plate at pagbibiyahe ng sasakyang hindi rehistrado ay malinaw na paglabag na hindi natin palalampasin. Walang espesyal na pagtrato sa pagpapatupad ng batas, at ang sinumang lalabag ay pananagutin ng LTO,” Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao said in a Facebook post.

(We are not looking at who owns and operates the vehicle. We are looking at whether or not they followed the law. Using an improvised plate and traveling in an unregistered vehicle is a violation that we will not allow. There is no special treatment when enacting the law, and whoever violates this will be held to account by the LTO.)

Singson has recently made headlines after he was arrested for alleged cyberlibel. He has since been released after posting bail.

GMA News Online is attempting to reach out to Singson for his side of the story. We will update the story once he responds. —Jean Mangaluz/RF, GMA News