Guadiz back as LTFRB chief

MANILA, Philippines — Embattled Teofilo Guadiz III is back at the helm of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board after Malacañang reinstated him as LTFRB chairman.

Guadiz has been reinstated barely a month after he was suspended by President Marcos due to corruption allegations that were later withdrawn.

“I pledge to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and efficiency in leading the LTFRB. We will work tirelessly to address the pressing issues and challenges in the transportation sector, striving to improve the lives of the Filipino people by providing safe, reliable, and accessible public transportation services,” Guadiz said in a statement.

Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista signed a special order reinstating Guadiz on Nov. 3.

The special order also repealed the appointment of Mercy Paras Leynes as officer-in-charge of the LTFRB.

“There stands no reason to place Chairman Guadiz under preventive suspension unless a supervening event maintaining the same accusations against him are put forth before the OP (Office of the President),” the Office of the Executive Secretary said in a statement yesterday.

This development comes as Jeff Tumbado, the former head executive assistant of Guadiz, signed an affidavit of recantation just two days after claiming that his former boss was involved in multi-million-peso anomalies involving franchises and different transactions within the LTFRB.

Tumbado had also alleged that corruption could have reached the Department of Transportation and Malacañang.

Tumbado claimed on Oct. 9 that he acted as a conduit and that some government officials were being paid P5 million in exchange for the approval of franchises or securing routes and special permits.

In an affidavit signed on Oct. 11, Tumbado said that his claims were “borne out of impulse, irrational thinking, misjudgment and poor decision making.”