FORMER Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) officer Jeff Gallos Tumbado yesterday withdrew his allegations of corruption within the agency.
In a two-page notarized affidavit, Tumbado said his previous statement that corruption was being committed by certain officials of the LTFRB, other agencies such as the Department of Transportation, and Malacanang was “borne out of impulse, irrational thinking, misjudgment, (and) poor decision making.”
He said he was also encouraged by some individuals to make the statement, which added to his confusion and affected his judgment.
“I still stand by the issue that there are indeed problems in the agency concerned that require immediate investigations by authorities concerned and those responsible be held accountable,” he added in his notarized affidavit of recantation.
Tumbado said he issued the sworn affidavit as a form of public apology to former LTFRB chief Teofilo Guadiz III, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, and the Office of the President.
“I have no malicious intention to besmirch the integrity and reputation of anyone,” he added.
President Marcos Jr. has suspended Guadiz due to allegations of corruption under his leadership.
Transport group Manibela has also said that it would hold a nationwide transportation strike on October 16 to protest corruption within the LTFRB.
Tumbado, a former assistant of Guadiz, claimed in a press conference earlier that there were massive corruption activities in LTFRB that have already reached Malacanang.
He claimed that some of the alleged irregularities in the LTFRB include the “ruta for sale,” “special permit for sale, and “modification of route.” He also said a request for renewal of a vehicle franchise could fetch as much as P5 million.
He said that specific details of the alleged corruption in the LTFRB would be included in the case to be filed before the Ombudsman.
The charges were supposed to be in violation of the Graft and Corruption Practices Act and the Ease of Doing Business law.
