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MOPT
Inspector Involved in
Billboard Bribes
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MOPT
Inspector Involved in
Billboard Bribes
Obtaining a permit to
install a "valla" or
billboard along the
country's highways,
especially in the
Central Valley, is no
easy task. So, why are
the major highways
around San José littered
with all types of
billboards?
The answer was made
clear yesterday, though
it was no surprise that it
involved corruption, as
an official of the
Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)
- public works and
transport ministry - in
charge of inspections of
billboards, was in fact
operating his own
sideline business of
handing out legal advice
and easing the process.
The MOPT relies on the
inspectors of the
Departamento de
Inspección Vial y
Demoliciones to regulate
and hand out permits for
billboards, a process
that is not easy to
obtain nor fast.
However, things change
when a bribe is offered,
as in the case of
Gerardo Sandoval, who
was caught by a hidden
camera by the
Telenoticias television
news crew, who for a
fee, would offer his
services to help obtain the
required permit for a
billboard in any part of
the country.
Currently, there is
an ongoing Organismo de
Investigación Judicial (OIJ)
investigation of
Sandoval following the
complaint by a company,
not named, to the MOPT
for an unusual ¢20.000
colones (us$38.75)
charge for a billboard
permit.
Sandoval, according to
MOPT records, figures in
80% of the permits given
out for billboard
placements.
The MOPT has refused
comment and is
investigating. |
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The
highways are littered with all types and
sizes of billboards, which permits are
difficult and time consuming to obtain. |
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