PRESS RELEASE
18 AUGUST 2026
OMBUDSMAN SUSPENDS LTFRB CHIEF MENDOZA, OTC CHAIR GUADIZ OVER ₱13.3B COMPUTER FEE BURDEN ON MOTORISTS
QUEZON CITY, Philippines — Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has ordered the preventive suspension of former Land Transportation Office (LTO) chiefs Vigor Mendoza II and Teofilo Guadiz III over the continued use of the STRADCOM-operated LTO information technology system that resulted in an additional ₱13.3 billion in computer fees.
Mendoza, now Chairman of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and Guadiz, currently Chairperson of the Office of Transportation Cooperatives, were placed under preventive suspension without pay for six months or during the pendency of the administrative case against them.
The Order, dated August 17, 2026, found sufficient grounds to suspend Mendoza and Guadiz, citing strong evidence showing their guilt in the administrative charges for Grave Misconduct and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.
“The continued utilization of the LTO IT System by GUADIZ and MENDOZA demonstrates a patent disregard of established government policy and prior official directives intended to transition LTO operations to the LTMS,” the ruling said.
Central to the complaints is the continued use of the STRADCOM-operated LTO IT System despite the government’s implementation and acceptance of its replacement, the Land Transportation Management System or LTMS.
The Order said the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the continued parallel use of the two systems resulted in the “non-maximization of the benefits” expected from the LTMS project.
COA found that this caused an “additional burden and expense for the transacting public” due to computer fees charged by STRADCOM, “which amounted to PhP13,379,196,499.73” from 2019 to 2025.
In 1998, the government and STRADCOM entered into a Build-Own-Operate Agreement which covered the establishment and operation of computer systems and other infrastructure used to process LTO transactions nationwide.
A Final Certificate of Acceptance was issued by then the DOTC, now the Department of Transportation, to STRADCOM in February 2003.
The original 10-year concession period expired on February 10, 2013 and was subsequently extended on a month-to-month basis.
In 2016, the LTO and STRADCOM entered into a Phase Out Agreement allowing the arrangement to continue while the LTO had no new or replacement IT system that was fully operational nationwide.
In 2018, the government contracted a joint venture led by Dermalog Identification Systems GmbH for the development and delivery of the new LTO core system, now known as the LTMS.
In 2021, the LTO issued a Certificate of Project Completion and Final Acceptance for the LTMS.
Following its implementation and rollout, the LTMS was institutionalized as the government’s principal platform for motor vehicle registration, licensing and related transportation transactions, with LTO operations directed to gradually transition away from the STRADCOM-operated system.
The Order further said that during Guadiz’s term in 2022, the then LTO Chief “pushed for the continued use of the LTO IT System” and “favored STRADCOM” with Guadiz saying “the old IT System provides a better solution”.
In 2023, during his term as LTO Chief, the Ombudsman found that Mendoza issued several memoranda “effectively reviving and institutionalizing the continued use of the LTO IT System through a parallel
utilization alongside the LTMS”.
In January 2025, Mendoza directed the processing of PUV registration renewals through the old system without requiring LTFRB confirmation.
The Ombudsman said the parallel utilization resulted “in the continued generation and collection of computer fees despite the expiration of the BOO Agreement” for STRADCOM.
The suspension order was ordered to preserve documents and evidence that may be under the control or custody of the respondents and to prevent the possible commission of further malfeasance or misfeasance in office.
The Order is immediately executory.#