Driver sought in PHP 7,800 Bacolod gas-and-go incident

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The Land Transportation Office-Negros Island Region has called on the driver of a brown pickup truck reportedly involved in a recent “gas-and-go” incident at a gas station in Barangay Alijis to surrender to authorities.

“Consider this your final warning,” the LTO-NIR stated.

The agency released closed-circuit television footage on social media over the weekend showing the vehicle reportedly leaving the station without paying PHP 7,800 for fuel on July 17.

A station attendant followed the vehicle in an attempt to get the driver’s attention but was unsuccessful.

The LTO-NIR said it reviewed the footage in coordination with local law enforcement authorities and the gas station’s management.

Investigators are tracking the movements of the vehicle, which had no visible license plate in the footage.

“Voluntarily present yourself to the nearest LTO office or police station to settle your account and address your actions,” the LTO-NIR said in a statement.

The agency warned that if the driver does not surrender before investigators identify them, it will seek the immediate and permanent revocation of the motorist’s license on the ground that the driver is an improper person to operate a motor vehicle.

The LTO-NIR also said it would place the vehicle under an active alarm and issue an apprehend-on-sight order to law enforcement units.

The order would direct authorities to locate, seize and impound the vehicle.

The driver could also face maximum administrative fines if authorities determine that the vehicle was unregistered or that the motorist was unlicensed.

The agency said it would pursue possible criminal complaints for theft and fraud.

Under Republic Act 4136, the LTO commissioner may suspend a driver’s license for up to three months or revoke it after a hearing when the holder is found to be an improper person to operate a motor vehicle or used a vehicle in the commission of a crime.

Any license revocation would therefore require the driver’s identification and appropriate administrative proceedings.

The same law requires motor vehicles to display clearly visible and legible number plates at the front and rear.

The LTO-NIR called driving without visible plates a blatant violation of transportation laws and described the alleged use of such a vehicle in a theft as an “unmitigated criminal act.”

“The lack of a license plate will not protect you; it only aggravates your offenses and guarantees a harsher penalty once caught,” it added.

“Turn yourself in immediately before the authority of the law catches up with you,” the agency said.

The LTO-NIR has recorded three fuel-and-run incidents since February amid the global oil crisis tied to tensions in the Middle East.