With President Noynoy Aquino’s all-out war against illegal blinkers and sirens and other road menaces, officials of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) expressed optimism that their enforcers will not be bullied anymore by influential personalities who blatantly violate traffic laws.

Assistant Secretary Alberto Suansing, LTO chief, said that in the past, their enforcers were subjected to harassment after they flagged down prominent personalities who use their connections in the government circle to evade traffic violations. “Some of these influential people even ask for the head of our traffic enforcers by pulling some strings for them to be relieved from their post,” he admitted.

Aside from harassments and often times, verbal abuse, LTO traffic enforcers were also intimidated by erring motorists brandishing business cards of people in high government positions and merely engage in name-dropping tactics.

Since President Noynoy declared a no-non sense drive against “wang-wangs” and motorists who violate traffic rules in his inaugural speech at the Quirino Grandstand last June 30, Suansing said there is no more stopping the country’s traffic enforcers to apprehend traffic violators.

As of Saturday, reports said that more than 50 illegal blinkers and sirens were confiscated by combined LTO and Philippine National Police (PNP) authorities in various urban areas, specifically in Metro Manila.

Also, the LTO renewed its campaign against commemorative plates that were mounted not alongside the legal LTO license plates which is also a violation of existing traffic regulations.

This developed as Suansing ordered its IT Provider Stradcom Corporation to submit pictures of vehicles taking emission test from centers directly connected with them.

Suansing said the move was done to create transparency and to show the public that Stradcom was cooperating to the LTO’s campaign against smoke belching and to further curve non appearance operation.

“In the spirit of transparency, kailangang mai-submit ang mga litrato ng mga sasakyan na na-emisison test ng mga centers na naka direct connect sa Stradcom,” Suansing said.

Suansing also stressed the need for verification of submitted photos to be able to know on whether this is really taken during the direct emission testing on centers connected to Stradcom.

In an LTO Memorandum, Suansing directed the IT provider of private emission test Centers (PETCS) to submit photo online real time to the LTO –PETC monitoring committee including their test results.