MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:05 p.m.) — Jose Art Tugade announced Monday his resignation as Land Transportation Office chief over differences with the Department of Transportation.
“Even as DOTr and LTO both aim to succeed in serving the public, our methods to achieve that success differ,” Tugade said in a statement posted by the Presidential Communications Office.
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He continued: “For this reason, I am stepping down, so Sec. Jimmy Bautista will have the free hand to choose who he can work best with.”
The son of former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said he will continue to root for the LTO’s success as a private citizen.
The LTO under the younger Tugade’s leadership was hit with a supposed shortage of plastic cards for driver’s licenses, which prompted the agency to simply print these on paper.
In a statement Monday afternoon, Bautista thanked Tugade and said: "His pursuit of service innovations at LTO benefited the public, for which this office is grateful."
The transport chief said they will submit to the Office of the President their recommendation for the next LTO chief "who can display the same fervor, while aligning efforts to the mission of this Department." — Xave Gregorio