THE Interior Department is investigating 85 local government units for illegally collecting P500 as ?pass-through? fees from delivery trucks entering their areas, an official said yesterday.

?Those fees are a violation of the Local Government Code with or without local ordinances,? Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said.

He said 39 of 85 local government units being investigated were municipalities, 21 were cities, 10 were villages and 15 were provinces.

Puno ordered the probe after President Arroyo had ordered him to look into the complaints of producers, manufacturers and wholesalers against the illegal fees being collected from them. Romie A. Evangelista