LAND Transportation Office (LTO) 7 Director Victor Caindec has asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 to help him with the complaints he filed against five motorcycle dealers owned by the Du family.
Caindec wrote a request for assistance and investigation to NBI officer-in-charge Eric Distor on Friday, March 26, 2021. The letter was coursed through NBI 7 Director Renan Augustus Oliva.
“We have uncovered several fraudulent sales practices of several dealerships which tantamount to huge loss of income to the government which could significantly alleviate our economy from this pandemic,” Caindec said in his letter.
SunStar Cebu has yet to get the side of the Du family.
In a statement sent to the press on Saturday, March 27, Caindec said that while the LTO 7 can focus on the administrative aspect of the investigation, he wants the bureau to use its expertise to look into the alleged crimes.
Their investigations revealed several violations, including the alleged withholding of registration documents from buyers who have not completed their payments and falsifying reports, among others.
The non-release of the original certificate of registration (CR) to owners, which bears no annotation or encumbrance in favor of the creditor, is illegal, he said.
Motorcycle owners who fail to carry their motor vehicle’s CR and official receipt violate Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.
Caindec said motorcycle dealers Du Ek Sam Inc., DES Marketing Inc., DES Strong Motors Inc., Desmark Corp. and Premio Corp. deliberately patterned the misreporting of business practice driven by the motive to evade taxes.
“By the volume of motorcycles sold under the dealership network of the Du family, government revenues in the form of taxes, chattel fees and LTO annotation fees are estimated to be in the hundred of millions annually or billions in a span of several years prior,” he said.
He also said that a “presumed” investigation by the Bureau of Internal Revenue is also being undertaken.
Caindec was earlier issued a subpoena by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to shed light on accusations against him surrounding vehicle registration.
The five motorcycle dealers had named Caindec in a statement released to the media on Feb. 13, saying their establishments were repeatedly harassed by him after they refused to give in to his alleged extortion attempts. (WBS with PR)