Automotive vlogger and writer James Deakin pushed back against statements made by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) following a press conference held on January 7.
During the press briefing, the LTO released additional details about the vehicle involved in the incident, including a new allegation that the car driven by Deakin’s son was unregistered.
Deakin clarified that his criticism was never about denying his son’s traffic violation, stressing that they had already accepted responsibility and complied with the corresponding penalties.
In a caption, he explained, “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.”
He also addressed claims that he should have handled the matter internally instead of airing his concerns on social media, saying he had already taken steps to do so.
According to Deakin, two days after receiving the traffic ticket, he reached out to Attorney Robby Consuji to seek clarification on the reckless driving charge. However, he said the response he received was a reminder of the agency’s “no padrino policy.”
Deakin shared, “I even said in my message, 'I’m not asking for any favors.' All I wanted was clarification and legal advice from him or someone in the LTO so I could understand what actually constitutes reckless driving.”
He expressed shock after seeing Atty. Consuji’s public statement criticizing his social media post, noting that he had already attempted to resolve the issue privately beforehand.
Deakin went on to accuse the LTO of applying double standards, arguing that the agency avoided addressing the core concerns and instead redirected attention to unrelated matters.
He added, “I’ve already admitted where both my son and I fell short and we took the penalty on the chin; so let’s 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.”
He concluded his statement by pointing out long-standing issues within the agency that, according to him, remain unresolved, ending with the message, “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.”
Many netizens echoed Deakin’s sentiments in the comments section, sharing their own negative experiences with the LTO and criticizing what they described as systemic issues within government agencies in the Philippines.
