BACOLOD City – The City Legal Office (CLO) has launched an inventory review of the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) following allegations of financial discrepancies related to traffic violation apprehensions.
This initiative began after it was reported that a collecting officer from the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) stationed at the BTAO had allegedly falsified an official city receipt.
The employee is accused of recording a P1,300 payment for a traffic violation as only P300 on the official receipt.
The discrepancy came to light after a complaint was filed through the program “Isugid kay Mayor,” prompting the current investigation by the CLO.
Romeo Carlos Ting Jr., the city legal officer, said the investigation aims to determine whether this incident is an isolated case or part of a broader pattern of similar occurrences.
The inventory, which began on April 26 at the BTAO headquarters located at Bazket Bacolod, 15th Lacson Street, Barangay 7, focuses on aligning citation tickets with the corresponding amounts recorded on official receipts.
This review spans the period from when Executive Assistant Patrick Lacson, the head of BTAO, took office in November 2023 to the present.
Lacson has expressed his support for the CLO’s efforts, describing it as a necessary measure for ensuring accountability and transparency.
“As far as BTAO is concerned, we do not handle money directly. Payments are made from traffic violators to the CTO. Our role is strictly to enforce local laws,” Lacson explained./PN
