Helmed by a new chief, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) seems to have no shortage of ideas and plans lately. For instance, it recently rolled out a new website that allows vehicle owners to inquire about the status and track the location of their replacement license plates, and has also warned that it plans to impose a penalty on those who fail to claim their replacement plates within 60 days.
Now, LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II has bared another measure he has put in place to “review” the operations of the agency: the deployment of ‘mystery applicants’ at various district offices in the country.
“I’ve activated a group of mystery applicants who are going around the different district offices to determine the exact timeline of their processes or procedures,” the official told CNN Philippines program The Source. “And then we compare it to the reports given to us to make sure that what is given to us is really accurate.”
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This isn’t the first time an agency of the Department of Transportation has tapped mystery operatives: You might recall that mystery passengers were deployed in 2020 to see if motorcycle-taxi riders are complying with the safety regulations during the early stages of the motorcycle-taxi pilot run. And of course, there have been entrapment operations to nab fixers right at the LTO premises.
Mendoza has not yet reported any findings from the deployment of these mystery applicants, but if his agency were to deliver on the DOTr’s promise of wiping out the driver’s license and license plate backlogs within the year, he will have to find ways to ensure the efficiency of its operations.
