Man arrested for selling blank LTO certificates

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Authorities were able to arrest a man who was selling blank certificates of registration from the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

In a "24 Oras" report from Emil Sumangil on Thursday, the male suspect attempted to sell a blank certificate to a woman. The woman was a police asset.

The entrapment operation was conducted in a restaurant not too far from an LTO branch in Tayuman, Manila.

Police operatives from the Task Force Limbas of the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) moved to arrest the man once the asset handed over the bag containing cash.

“Ang area of operation po nito, dito po sa NCR at umaabot po ito sa Region IV-A, at sa Region III… may mga complaints na tayo before of the same operandi, kaya lang ito, mas marami po ito,” PNP-HPG Director P/BGEN Joyce Patrick B. Sangalang said.

(Their area of operation, here in the NCR and it reached Region IV-A, and Region III… we have had complaints of the same operandi but this is a lot more.)

The PNP-HPG said that selling fake LTO documents helped criminals involved in carnapping, as it made it seem like the cars were legitimate, so that it could be sold.

Sangalang said the buyer could look at the documents and think that they are authentic. The fake documents look nearly identical to the original, but there are security features, such as the texture of the paper.

The suspect declined to comment.

“Coordinated po tayo sa lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno kung saan yung lahat ng papel na ito ay galing,” Sangalang said.

(We are already coordinating with all of the government agencies where all of these papers would come from.) — BAP, GMA News