Guadiz denies corruption allegations, ready to face probe

Suspended Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Teofilo Guadiz III on Monday denied the corruption allegations made against him by his former executive assistant.

"Wala hong katotohanan lahat ng mga ibinunyag niyang iyon (There is no truth to his allegations against me)," Guadiz told Unang Balita in an interview, referring to the accusations made by Jeff Tumbado, who has since recanted his allegations.

Guadiz also said he is ready to face any investigation that will be conducted resulting from Tumbado's allegations.

"I'm willing to face anybody in any investigation, in any forum, para pabulaanan iyong mga alegasyong iyon (to deny those allegations)," he said.

According to Guadiz, he has talked with Tumbado even before the
recantation, and that Tumbado has asked for his forgiveness.

"One day pagkatapos niyang magbunyag, kami ho ay nag-usap. Na-realize niya 'yung kanyang gustong gawin, nasaktan ho ako, ay hindi ho tama. So humingi ng paumanhin sa akin. Kasunod na araw siya ang nag-execute ng affidavit of recantation," Guadiz said.

(We had a conversation a day after he made the accusations. He realized that what he wanted to do hurt me so he apologized. The following day he executed an affidavit of recantation.)

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. suspended Guadiz amid reports of alleged corruption under his leadership in the LTFRB.

In his earlier statement, Tumbado claimed bribe money from jeepney operators go as high as P5 million to secure a route, franchise, special permits or board resolutions.

Guadiz, in the Unang Balita interview, said this is the first time that such accusations are hurled against him in his 23 years in public service.

Tumbado forgiven

Guadiz said the controversy started when he transferred Tumbado to a different division in the LTFRB due to misunderstanding with other employees in his office.

"Nung nangyari iyon bigla na lang siyang nag-resign at after 15 days, may mga lumabas na supposedly mga splices na pictures na galing sa kaniya," he said.

(When that happened he resigned and after 15 days spliced photos supposedly coming from him came out.)

Despite this, Guadiz said he has forgiven Tumbado, adding that as of now he has no plans of suing his former executive assistant.

"Sa ngayon wala akong balak na magsagawa ng anumang aksiyon. Nung siya ho ay humingi ng kapatawaran sa akin at nung siya ay nag-execute ng affidavit ay pinatawad ko na po siya," he said.

(For now I have no plans of doing any action against him. I forgave him when he asked for my forgiveness and executed an affidavit.) —KBK, GMA Integrated News