30/11/2022
๐๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ โ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐โ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐: ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) warned accredited doctors and medical clinics to immediately stop their โno showโ activity or face suspension or worse, permanent closure.
The stern warning was issued by LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo โJay Artโ Tugade after receiving reports that certain medical clinics and doctors issue medical certificates to driverโs license applicants without any actual physical examination.
โMy marching orders to all regional and district offices nationwide was to w**d out corruption not only in LTO offices themselves but also those in accredited partners like medical clinics, whose services are part of the process for securing driverโs licenses or motor vehicle registration,โ explains LTO Chief Tugade.
He added that the medical certificate is a vital part of the driverโs license application process to determine if the applicant is fit to operate a motor vehicle.
โWe continue to remind the public that a driverโs license to operate a motor vehicle is not a right but a privilege granted by the government. No one should circumvent the process in the issuance of a driverโs license, and the job of the LTO is to make sure that it is issued only to qualified drivers as part of promoting road safety,โ the LTO chief added.
LTO Chief Tugade cited the case of a Medical Clinic in Bacolod City, which was slapped with a 60-day suspension order by LTO Region 6 after it was reported that the clinic issued too many medical certificates in a single day.
Aside from closure, the Medical Clinic was also deactivated from the LTO IT system.
The closure order was given after the Regional Assessment and Compliance Monitoring Team (RACMT) headed by LTO Region 6 Assistant Regional Director Atty. Gaudioso Geduspan II reported that the clinic issued as much as 186 medical certificates in a single day.
Prior to the closure, a Show Cause Order was issued against the Medical Clinic to explain why it issued that much number of medical certificates, which was perceived to be โstatistically improbable.โ The clinicโs management, through its legal counsel, explained that it usually experiences a large volume of clients daily, most of whom line up as early as 6.30am.
To confirm whether the clinicโs claim was true or not, an RACMT member went to the clinic last week and posed as a client and tried to secure a medical certificate. The poseur-client saw that there were only a few people at the clinic and was surprised at how fast the certificate was issued, complete with the stamped name and signature of the accredited doctor even without a physical examination, which is in violation of LTO Memorandum Circular 2018-2157.
This prompted LTO Region 6 to issue a Notice of Violation/Cease-and-Desist Order for both the clinic and the doctor whose stamped name and signature appeared in the medical certificate.
