Manning the LTO: Turning a ‘corrupt’ agency around

MANILA, Philippines – When President Rodrigo Duterte began shaping up his future Cabinet, he had been adamant about one thing: for sensitive, corruption-riddled agencies, he wanted former military men to head them.

Manning an agency tagged as one of the most corrupt is a challenge for the Land Transportation Office (LTO)’s new chief, Edgar Galvante. The former police general said he wants the LTO to be struck off the list of “most corrupt” agencies, with the hope that his military background might inject discipline among the ranks of the agency’s personnel.

“Corrupt” has been a tag long associated with the LTO, the agency responsible for regulating motor vehicles in the Philippines. In the Social Weather Stations (SWS) Survey of Enterprises on Corruption, the LTO did not fare too well among respondents who graded the agency’s sincerity in fighting corruption.

In the survey conducted in 2015, it rose by one grade, from “bad” to “poor,” rising from -32 to -26. 

But Galvante wants to erase that tag altogether and get a positive response from the public. The fixer system, long waits for drivers’ licenses and license plates – these are all holdovers from his predecessors, contributing to the negative public perception of the agency. (READ: Corruption at LTO, LTFRB: Unfit drivers, vehicles on the road) 

It’s such that many citizens see the prospect of transacting with any LTO office as a chore, a whole-day affair that requires a lot of patience and wrangling with the bureaucratic red tape.

That’s not the image Galvante wants the public to keep in mind.

“It’s a shame that we are labelled like that, so probably we should do a double time act so we can change that. Because if we walk around and people learn that we are from LTO, they might avoid us,” Galvante said.

“Mas maganda na they’ll learn we’re from LTO, lalapit sila because they know that we are doing something to help them. Ganoon ang gusto kong maging klase ng relationship between the LTO and the clients,” he added.

(It’s better that once they learn that we’re from the LTO, they’ll come to us because they know that we are doing something to help them. That’s the kind of relationship that I want for the LTO and its clients.)

Instilling discipline

For Galvante, improving the LTO’s performance boils down to one thing: discipline. He believes that being focused on one’s task, and rendering complete and quality service, already makes a world of difference to citizens transacting with the agency.

True, there are still problems besetting the agency that are beyond the employees’ control: the license plate issue and lack of drivers’ licenses are still tied up with legal problems, and procurement processes are not part of the ordinary employee’s mode of concern. While Galvante promises to immediately resolve these pending cases, in the meantime, the public should at least see a difference in the quality of service they get simply from the window of the LTO office they are transacting with.

It’s this belief in the role of discipline in the workplace that is also one of the reasons why Duterte had tapped Galvante for the job. The former police general also said that he wants to bring the stricter kind of discipline in the military to the civilians manning the LTO.

It will show, he said, even in the simplest of transactions – such as giving full attention to the person outside the window, many of whom come from faraway places or have given up their lunch breaks just to transact with the LTO.

“’Pag nasa harap mo ‘yung kliyente, tapusin mo ‘yung kailangan doon sa kliyente bago ka gumawa ng iba. I don’t want to tolerate ‘yung habang may nakaharap sa iyong kliyente, makikipag-usap ka sa [iba], ‘yung kliyente naghihintay sa’yo,” he said.

(When the client is right in front of you, finish your business with that client before doing anything else. I don’t want to tolerate the act of talking to someone else and making the client wait while he is right in front of you.)

Improving quality of service was Galvante’s marching order for employees when he first took over the agency. He told LTO employees that no one would be proud of being associated with an agency tagged most corrupt.

“I told them that I cannot be proud of having that tag and I’m sure that you are also not proud of having that tag. That’s why we really have to change the public perception. If this perception is based on something flimsy or not true, even then let’s show them that their impressions are wrong. And this can be done only by the kind of service, quality of service that you render,” he said.

But Galvante also recognizes that simply issuing strict orders won’t make sterling employees. Improving service and winning public trust back should also be matched with raising employees’ morale.

From his talks with the previous LTO chief, Galvante said he learned that some employees have been promoted after a long period of no such promotions being awarded. Galvante said he wants to keep this going to encourage meritocracy.

“It helps with the people’s morale. So we would like to pursue that, if there are some still due for promotion or if there are vacancies into which they can be promoted to, based on their experience, skill, capability, quality of service… Although there’s only a small adjustment in salary and privileges, it will at least help a bit,” he said in Filipino.

First hundred days

Within the first hundred days of his term, Galvante said he wants ordinary Filipinos to already see results.

The primary goal, he said, is to improve quality of service and reduce red tape and waiting time for simple government transactions.

One of the reforms he plans to implement is adopting an electronic queuing system, where customers can go online and select what time they want to be attended to even before their arrival at the government office.

The agency is already working to address the backlog in drivers’ licenses and license plates to be able to release them as soon as possible. But the long-term plan for Galvante is to produce the license plates locally so that the agency can quickly respond in case of shortages.

“That’s why we are planning to procure the machines that are needed for us to be able to do this, and we are going to do this in the next budget, hopefully this can be granted,” he said.

To improve their engagement with the public, Galvante also said they have assigned a team to track public sentiment on social media, respond to these concerns, and get an idea of the situation on the ground and what needs to be corrected.

For Galvante, performing well at the LTO is imperative for him not to squander the trust given by the President.

“I did not apply for the job, it’s just that I was contacted and I was asked to join. I said it’s an honor and I would do my best if I’m being trusted that I can do something and help. That’s why, I don’t want to be embarrassed before the person who trusted me with this job,” he said.

“The fact that I was given a chance to prove myself, I want to fulfill that. I am not trying to boast that I am skilled and capable, but I’m going to do my best to be equal to the task.” – Rappler.com