Sen. Grace Poe berates transport officials

THE Senate, thru the Committee on Public Services headed by Sen. Grace Poe, asked the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and its attached agency, the Land Transportation Office (LTO), to “suspend” the implementation of the controversial ‘Motor Vehicle Inspection System’ (MVIS) of private vehicles due to “unresolved issues and complaints that have left motorists grossly disadvantaged at this time of pandemic.”

“The timing of its implementation could not have been worse. We are still in the middle of a pandemic with no definite end in sight,” Poe said as she berated officials of the LTO and the DOTr.

“Hindi ba pwedeng time-out muna habang nasa gitna pa tayo ng pandemya,” Poe said.

The committee had investigated the brouhaha and found out that the costs of the inspection to be done by private companies are “prohibitive for a still imperfect system.”

“Mula sa P500 noon na emission testing fee, naging P1,500 o triple ang iminahal ngayon ng inspection fee. Dagdag pa ito sa mismong registration fee na maaaring umabot ng higit pa sa P3,000.

“Para sa isang sistema na napakaraming problema, makatwiran ba ang mga bayaring ito,” the daughter of the late Philippine movie Action King, Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) asked further.

Poe also assailed the DOTr for lack of public consultation before pushing for the MVIS.

“Safer roads mean no shortcuts. The public must be consulted and informed every step of the way. Dapat kabahagi ang mga motorista sa paghulma ng ganitong kalaking polisiya,” Poe pointed out further.

Poe then requested the department and the LTO to provide her committee with the list of all the private motor vehicles inspection centers they already ‘accredited’ even before the policy guidelines on their suppose activities have been approved.

“Who own these centers that were given permits even prior to the issuance of the regulations,” Poe asked.

Aside from the list of PMVICs and their owners, Poe also asked the LTO and the DOTr to submit the minutes of the consultation with the stakeholders, if indeed this took place.

At present, there are 138 PMVICs currently accredited and only 23 operating, barely enough to accommodate all vehicles that are required to register annually, Poe found out.

She computed that each operating PMVIC will have to inspect 173,913 cars on the average that translates to 476 cars daily, including Sundays and holidays, a near impossible task.

The solon also estimated that with the proposed fee of P1,500 per private vehicle, each of the centers pre-approved by the LTO “stands to earn close to a million daily or P261 million” in the first year of operation, “assuming that each one inspects the same number of vehicles.”

“(This) also assumes that all vehicles pass the first inspection and are not required to return and pay again for a second inspection for failing to pass the test.

“Those who conceive of these far-reaching policies must obey the oldest rule on the road: Stop, look and listen,” Poe emphasized.