Don’t appoint Luisita lawyer to LTO, Noynoy warned

Not him.

Labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno today warned president-elect Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III against appointing 1-Utak Partylist Rep. Vigor Mendoza as Land Transportation Office chief, saying Mendoza has been more loyal to the Aquino family than to motorists and commuters.

KMU made the statement after two groups claiming to represent the transport sector expressed support for Mendoza to become the next LTO chief.

“While he is more well-known at present as 1-Utak representative to Congress, Mendoza served as lawyer and spokesman to the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita Incorporated (HLI),” said KMU chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog.

Mendoza was HLI’s lawyer when it asked the Supreme Court in 2006 for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the resolution of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council to subject Hacienda Luisita to land reform. The TRO is at present the main legal impediment to the distribution of Luisita to farmers.

“Noynoy should not appoint Vigor Mendoza to the LTO. In the first place, he did not serve the interests of motorists and commuters as 1-Utak representative. Under the Arroyo regime, he connived with Stradcom Corporation and the LTO in trying to implement the Radio Frequency Identification or RFID scheme which met intense protests by motorists and commuters,” Labog said.

“Secondly, his track record as HLI lawyer and spokesperson shows that he did not serve the interests of our marginalized kababayans, serving the HLI and not the oppressed farmers and farmworkers of Luisita. He is a loyal stooge of the Aquinos who defended them even in the worst situations. It is more likely that he will uphold the interests of the private firms like Stradcom when he’s appointed to the LTO,” Labog added.

KMU said it suspects that Mendoza is already being groomed by the incoming Aquino administration for the LTO post, and the recent statements of support by some transport groups are part of a propaganda ploy to make Mendoza’s appointment more acceptable to the public.

“We have this gnawing suspicion that Mendoza is already Noynoy’s choice. The so-called transport groups are making these propaganda stunts to make his appointment more palatable to the public.

“They want to show that Mendoza has credentials to serve motorists and commuters in the LTO. They want to banish the impression that Mendoza is being appointed primarily because Noynoy is now paying political debts,” Labog concluded.