LAND Transportation Office (LTO) 7 Director Glen Galario has called the graft complaints filed against him a “demolition job,” believing the mastermind behind the charges is an LTO official who wants to remove him from his position.
Two separate complaints were filed against Galario at the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas, accusing him of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, accusing Galario of collecting grease money and protecting colorum operators.
The regional director denied all these allegations as “unfounded and unsubstantiated.”
In a press conference on Aug. 29, 2025, Galario said the timing of the complaint, filed just before a visit by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon to Cebu, shows it was a “well-planned” demolition job.
However, Galario declined to name the official involved, pending a lawsuit his legal team has prepared. He said the official was “after his position.”
Galario believes the charges are linked to an incident of illegal electricity and water tapping at the LTO Motor Vehicle Inspection Service (MVIS) in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City.
In 2024, a leakage was reported at the LTO MVIS. Upon investigation, LTO Legal Officer Lawyer Vincent Francis Bien Santiago found illegal water and electricity connections.
The investigation found that the water and electricity, paid for by an LTO office, were connected to and being used by an adjacent property—a non-LTO house.
The report alleged that the adjacent property was selling Third-Party Liability Insurance coverage, a requirement for annual motor vehicle registration.
Galario said he ordered the illegal connections immediately stopped and filed a police blotter report on April 2, 2024, with a witness and an LTO MVIS security guard corroborating the report.
Galario believes the mastermind of the graft charges was involved in the alleged illegal tapping.
“I was hoping for it to be resolved internally with the DOTr last year because I do not want it to be known publicly as it will demoralize the LTO employees. But it was not yet resolved,” he said.
He added that the complaint has tainted and damaged his reputation and affected his family. Galario challenged the complainant to present evidence and requested a lifestyle check on him, clarifying that he is not rich, even though he is connected to a political family.
“Although na-upset ko, pero I see it coming. Knowing that person, based sa akong nadungan (gikan) sa iyang colleagues before, actually gusto unta siya ibalik didto sa kung hain siya gikan pero di siya dawaton, diri gyud siya sa (Region) 7 (“Although I was upset, I saw it coming. Knowing that person, based on what I heard from his colleagues before, they actually wanted him to return to where he came from, but he was not accepted there, so he really ended up here in Region 7),” said Galario.
The complaints
In one complaint, Rosario Paras accused Galario of demanding weekly “SOP” or grease money from his subordinates. A staff member, Lara Signar, allegedly collected the money to meet a weekly quota of P150,000 for Galario.
A separate complaint from Pablo Dignos alleged that Galario was collecting payola from colorum operators in Bohol. Dignos said the operators were not apprehended and were only issued minor traffic violations. Dignos believes the scheme is a “syndicate operation.” / EHP