Marcoleta questions Lacanilao’s appointment as LTO chief

Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Thursday questioned the credentials of Markus Lacanilao in the transport sector following his appointment as chief of the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

During the plenary debates on the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTR) and its attached agencies, Marcoleta recalled that Lacanilao was among those who accompanied ex-President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague in The Netherlands last March.

Lacanilao was then the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime when Duterte was arrested earlier this year by virtue of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“‘Yun lamang po siguro ‘yung transport-related activity na pwede nating isangkot sa inyo? Other than that, wala?” Marcoleta asked. 

(Is that the only transport-related activity that you did? Other than that there’s nothing?) 

“At ang mahirap pa po, Mr. President, hindi naman kotse ang ginamit mo, eroplano ang ginamit mo so hindi ka rin dapat sana roon eh. Kung tricycle ang ginamit mo para dalhin mo si dating Pangulong Duterte sa The Hague, mula noong March baka hanggang ngayon, baka hindi ka pa nakarating sa layo noon,” he added. 

(The thing is you didn't even use a car, but a plane, and you shouldn’t even have been there either. If you used a tricycle to bring former President Duterte to The Hague, maybe you still haven’t arrived there from March until now.) 

Citing answers from Lacanilao, Senator JV Ejercito, the DOTr’s budget sponsor, said the new LTO is active in motorsports, particularly in car racing and motorcycle racing.

He added that Lacanilao was also part of an investigation into one of the issues in the LTO in 2008 to 2009.

Ejercito also noted that Lacanilao’s family had a bus company and he has knowledge of car importation. Lacanilao is also a road safety advocate and a civil engineer by profession, the senator added.

Marcoleta, however, was not satisfied with Lacanilao’s qualifications, saying there are many problems in the transportation sector that the LTO should address.

“Nang dahil ba kayo ay inihatid niyo ang Pangulong Duterte sa The Hague, ito po ba ang kabayaran, Mr. President? Ito po ba’y premyo? Kasi kailangan natin ma-disabuse ang pagdududa ng mga kababayan natin,” the neophyte senator said. 

(Is your appointment a reward for bringing former President Duterte to The Hague? Is this a prize? Because we need to disabuse the doubts of our countrymen.) 

In response, Ejercito said Lacanilao defers to the wisdom of the appointing authority, who is President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. 

“According to Secretary [Giovanni] Lopez, since LTO will be directly under the [Office of the Secretary], they will really monitor and make sure that they will function, and the reforms that need to be instituted will be done. So ‘yan pong commitment ng Secretary Lopez natin (that’s Lopez’ commitment to us),” Ejercito added.

Marcoleta then clarified that he is not questioning the wisdom of the President, but he believes that Marcos was not properly advised when it came to naming Lacanilao.

In October, Malacañang announced a reshuffle among top officials of key offices under the DOTr, resulting in Lacanilao’s appointment as LTO chief, replacing Atty. Vigor Mendoza II. — JMA, GMA Integrated News