08/01/2026
What I appreciate about this situation is that one party is mature enough to take accountability and responsibility for their part in what happened.
That kind of posture matters.
Whatโs concerning, though, is how the other party seems to be deflecting, diverting, and leaning heavily on public sympathyโwhen itโs also no secret (and honestly, public knowledge) that there are systemic shortcomings that need to be acknowledged and addressed.
Accountability canโt be selective.
Real progress doesnโt happen when responsibility is shifted away instead of examined honestly.
We can hold space for explanation and still call for accountability.
Both can be true.
So this whole reckless driving issue has taken another sharp turn (pun intended) after the LTO conducted a press conference yesterday, revealing in great detail what everyone already knewโthat my son committed a traffic violation on the skyway. They also added a new charge: the vehicle he was driving was also unregistered.
So allow me to address these individually:
First and foremost: This was never about whether my son committed a traffic violation or not. We both admitted as much from the very beginning. He also took the ticket, didnโt contest it, and paid the fineโeffectively closing the case. Itโs done and dusted. The ink has dried. Elvis has left the building. So framing it like it is new information feels more like deflection than anything else.
The main issue was the 15-day deadline that included the 8 or 9 days the LTO were closed, as well as the demands for unnecessary paperwork that is not in the Citizens Charter. Those are the questions that people wanted answers to.
Yet despite the public outcry about that, the LTO held a press conference to answer a question nobody asked: whether or not my son violated traffic rules. Again, this was never in question.
I was also condemned for using social media irresponsibly and that I should have handled it internally first. So hereโs what actually happened before I went to the LTO.
December 20: two days after the violation, when I knew it was impossible to physically make it down to east Avenue to contest the reckless charge, I asked a colleague in the beat, atty Robby Consunji, for clarification on the reckless driving charge and if it is something that remains on my sonโs permanent record. He replied by saying Asec has a โno padrino policyโ - which was strange, because it wasnโt what I asked for. I even said in my message โIโm not asking for any favorsโ. All I wanted was clarification and legal advice from him or someone in the LTO so I could understand what actually constitutes reckless driving. Thatโs it. So you can imagine my surprise when I see Mr. Consunji on social media yesterday taking a stab at me saying that social media is not the venue to get these problems solved when I literally went to him first.
January 6: The day after my viral post about the experience, the LTO issue a statement saying they will investigate this. I was encouraged by that. Yet instead of providing me and my son the evidence that we needed, they chose to broadcast it on national television instead.
Thatโs not due process. Thatโs trial by publicity. And an obvious deflection from the real issues, which is the bureaucracy and double standards at the LTO.
It was then that they also announced that the vehicle was unregistered. This was the first time for me to hear of that.
For context, this is not our vehicle. It was a loaner. I accepted it in good faith as it had the conduction sticker and temporary plateโbut regardless of that, I understand that ignorance is no plea for the law so I accept full responsibility for not having double checked it first before letting my son drive it. I own that.
With that aside, my question here is, if the violation was as blatant and offensive as the LTO chief and the media made it out to be, why was it not cited in the traffic violation? How did the traffic enforcer miss that? What is the penalty for driving on a conduction sticker and why wasnโt it administered on the spot? How did it get through every layer at the LTO East Avenue head office during the settlement process and not have been picked up? Iโm not trying to escape responsibility here, but neither should you, LTO. I mean, if you couldnโt detect it despite all those official layers, why are you publicly crucifying a 19-year old new driver and his dad for the same thing?
This only proves my point that thereโs a double standard at the LTO.
Case in point. When the public wait months and years for plates or plastic cards, itโs just brushed off as an administrative issue. Yet when we miss the deadline, even when youโre closed, itโs automatic suspension and public shaming.
Can you see the hypocrisy here?
So please, stop deflecting. Everyone makes mistakes. Itโs human. You literally have an entire department dedicated solely to addressing and penalizing people for that. So stop acting like youโre shocked and personally offended by it. Itโs literally your job.
Iโve already admitted where both my son and I fell short and we took the penalty on the chin; so letโs see if you will do the same and drop the double standards by addressing the real issues I brought up because the public have a right to know.
- Why do calendar days apply to citizens but working days apply to you?
- Why demand printed documents for driver violations when itโs not in your citizens charter?
- Why does your administrative definition of โreckless drivingโ contradict the statutory standard?
- Why show evidence to media before showing it to the accused?
I still have hope that you will use this as a teaching moment and clarify it publicly so that we can start rebuilding the social contract that is being torn apart by bureaucracy and double standards.
๐ธ Santi San Juan, Manila Bulletin
