ILOILO City – At the moment, there are only two private motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVIC) operating in this southern city.
“These are not enough if you consider the total number of vehicles diri sa syudad,” said Councilor Romel Duron, chairperson of the city council’s committee on transportation.
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is set to implement the private motor vehicle inspection center (PMVIC) system nationwide.
All vehicles must undergo inspection in LTO-accredited PMVICs to ensure their road worthiness prior to registration or renewal of registration.
Duron said LTO has good intentions but “huól ina para sa mga motor vehicle owners.”
In Iloilo alone, there are at least 145,000 registered vehicles and the number increases at an average of 10 percent a year.
“Kon isa or duha lang ang i-authorize mo, indi na sila ka sarang mag-inspection kag emission (test) sang mga salakyan diri,” said Duron.
In the whole Western Visayas, LTO targets to accredit nine PMVICs – two each for the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo and one each for Negros Occidental (Kabankalan City), Iloilo province (Passi City), Aklan (Kalibo), Antique (San Jose), and Capiz (Roxas City).
The capacity of one PMVIC is 40 to 60 vehicles a day or, Duron said, 1,800 vehicles a month or 30, 000 a year.
“Kon ikaw ang motor vehicle owner, mapila ka gid sina…Mabudlay para sa aton nga tag-iya,” said Duron.
The former official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Region 6 questioned LTO’s readiness in rolling out the program.
“Indi sila preparado,” he lamented.
For areas that still have no PMVICs, the current system of emission testing and LTO inspections will be undertaken and honored for car registrations.
The PMVIC in Roxas City is already operational.
The inspection fee ranges between P1,500 to P1,800. Duron said this is exorbitant and was determined without proper consultation.
Vehicles that fail to pass the inspection have to be re-inspected and for this, owners have to pay 50 percent (P900) of the first inspection payment.
“LTO has to delay or defer the implementation of this PMVIC program,” said Duron.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Capiz recently passed a resolution urging a deferment.
DRIVERS’ PLIGHT
Raymundo “Boyet” Parcon of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators’ and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA) warned that “99 percent” of the estimated 12,000 public utility jeepneys in the city and province of Iloilo will flunk the inspection.
“Once nga mag-register kami kag ipasulod sa PMVIC, indi kami ya makapasar kay ti ang jeep namon maskin in condition, kulang-kulang ang accessories, wala pa iban gagana,” Parcon told Panay News in an earlier interview.
ICLAJODA, he added, urged the LTO to defer the scheme until the jeepney modernization is already in full swing.
“Nagapangayo kami sang konsiderasyon kay ara pa kita sa pandemic,” Parcon lamented.
REDUCE ROAD CRASH
For his part, LTO national chief Edgar Galvante defended the PMVIC scheme. He said the public needs to see the “reasonableness of the inspections”. This would help reduce injuries and deaths from road accidents, he explained.
Galvante also insisted that the inspection fee is reasonable. PMVIC operators also need to recoup their investments and ensure the feasibility of their operations, he said.
The government does not have the capability to run its own MVICs due to lack of funding, Galvante added.
Some transport groups warned unscrupulous PMVICs may deliberately fail vehicles being inspected and extort from their owners.
Galvante said these PMVICs should be immediately reported to the LTO./PN
