Philippine gov’t cracks down on online fixers, scammers of driver’s licenses

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The Department of Transportation is working on increasing road safety measures following two tragic road crashes in early May

MANILA, Philippines – Authorities are going after fixers and those illegally selling fraudulent government IDs, such as driver’s licenses, as they have proliferated online.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon warned that those operating illegal ID businesses may be put behind bars for at least 12 years.

“Kaya kami nandito ngayon para ipakita sa lahat — lalong-lalo na sa mga [scammer] na nang-aabuso sa ating mga kababayan — na hindi nila alam ‘yung ginagawa nila ay potentially makakamatay ng mga kababayan natin sa kalye,” Dizon said in a joint press conference with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Thursday, May 22.

(We are here to show everyone — especially scammers who take advantage of our fellow citizens — that they don’t realize they could potentially kill others on the road with what they are doing.)

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the LTO will be working with the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group, which is also going after online illegal sellers of persons with disabilities IDs.

The DOTr is working on increasing road safety measures following two tragic road crashes in early May. Both crashes — the Solid North crash along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the SUV crash at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 — killed several individuals, including minors.

Dizon had previously acknowledged that the government needs to fix the “broken system” of transportation in the country.

He noted on Thursday that one of the biggest problems within the system is the prevalence of fixers and scammers — people who sell fake government IDs. With the former, people can get a license even without going through the official process, which includes medical and driving tests; with the latter, unqualified individuals can get behind the wheel as long as they have enough cash to buy a fraudulent ID.

“Itong mga fixer na ‘to, garapalan na, kasi ginagamit pa nila ang logo ng LTO at ng gobyerno sa kanilang mga site. Sinasabi nila, pinapalabas nila [na] LTO sila, pero kung tinitignan mo ‘yung mga serbisyong binibenta nila for P1,000, P2,000, P5,000, nakalagay ‘dun…halimbawa, ‘non-pro driver’s license without actual driving,‘” said Dizon.

(These fixers blatantly use LTO and government logos on their websites. They say and make it appear as if they really are the LTO, but if you look at the services they sell for P1,000, P2,000, P5,000, it says…for example, ‘non-pro driver’s license without actual driving.’)

“‘Yang driver na ‘yan, ‘pag nakakuha ng lisensya at hindi marunong magmaneho, most likely, makakadisgrasysa ‘yan. Baka makakapatay pa ‘yan,” he added.

(If that driver gets a license and they don’t know how to drive, most likely, they would end up causing an accident. They might even end up killing someone.)

LTO Chief Vigor Mendoza II said if they catch drivers with illegal license, aside from facing a falsification case, they will also be disqualified from ever being granted a legitimate license. Authorities also warned government employees who work with fixers, saying they may face legal consequences on top of imprisonment once they are caught.

Recognizing that the process of obtaining and renewing a driver’s license needs improvement, Mendoza said, “There are reforms in place that, soon, we will announce.” – Rappler.com