LTO, police nab suspect in PHP 300K junkyard scam

By Gerome Dalipe

A sophisticated fraud scheme involving a falsified driver’s license and an alleged PHP 300,000 scam was recently foiled through a swift, coordinated entrapment operation by the Land Transportation Office–Region VI (LTO-6) and Iloilo City Police Station 2.

The joint team arrested a 35-year-old man from Taguig City on Monday evening at one of the city’s largest hotels in Barangay President Roxas.

Police said the suspect, who resides in South Signal Village, Taguig City, allegedly posed as a disposal manager and offered to sell seven oil tanks to a junkshop owner in Lapuz, Iloilo City for PHP 13 per kilo.

The suspect received an initial payment of PHP 300,000 on Oct. 28 after meeting the complainant at the hotel.

The scheme began to unravel the next day when the suspect demanded an additional PHP 100,000 from the junkshop owner.

Sensing something was wrong, the complainant verified the suspect’s claimed employer, only to be told the company had no connection with him.

The complainant then brought the suspect’s driver’s license to the LTO Iloilo City Licensing Center, which confirmed the document was fake.

With evidence of falsification, LTO-6 and intelligence personnel from ICPS-1, led by Police Capt. Melchor A. Tolentino, set up a sting operation.

The entrapment was carried out in coordination with Ms. Relin Reyes, chief of the LTO-6 Regional Law Enforcement Section, and Intelligence and Investigation Unit Chief Shiela Mae Alulod.

The suspect was arrested shortly after accepting marked money amounting to PHP 100,000 from the complainant.

Seized from the suspect were the marked bills, a mobile phone, a counterfeit driver’s license, and a fake company ID.

He now faces charges for estafa (fraud) and falsification of a public document.

LTO-6 Regional Director Atty. Gaudioso P. Geduspan II commended Capt. Tolentino and the ICPS-1 team for their “swift and efficient coordination.”

He said their proactive efforts support LTO-6’s mandate to eliminate crimes involving fake driver’s licenses and fraudulent activities.

The arrest aligns with the non-settlement policy of LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Markus V. Lacanilao and the push for stricter accountability by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.

Under Geduspan’s leadership, LTO-6 has intensified its anti-fixing and anti-fraud campaigns, filing 86 cases and prosecuting 23—including two against LTO employees.

The office has also begun permanently disqualifying motorists caught using fake documents.