Senators call for suspension of Motor Vehicle Inspection System

Senators on Tuesday called for the suspension of the implementation of the Motor Vehicle Inspection System amid lingering issues that they said are detrimental to motorists at the time of the COVID-19 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. Hindi ba pwedeng time-out muna habang nasa gitna pa tayo ng pandemya?” said Senator Grace Poe, who led the Senate inquiry on the matter.

The government is privatizing motor vehicle inspection through private motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVICs), with the Land Transportation Office eyeing 138 PMVICs nationwide, with a total of 276 lanes for light vehicles and 276 lanes for motorcycles.

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante in November 2018 issued LTO Memorandum Circular (MC) 2018-2158, which laid out the guidelines authorizing PMVICs.

Section 17 of the MC states that for every motor vehicle inspected at a PMVIC, a fee shall be collected—P1,800 for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 4,500 kilograms or lower.

Motorcycle and tricycle owners will have to pay an inspection fee of P600.00.

If a vehicle fails the inspection phase, the PMVIC will charge a “re-inspection fee” of P900 for vehicles with a GVW of 4,500 kgs, and P300 for motorcycles and tricycles.

But Poe said the costs involved in the memorandum 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?” she said.

Currently, only 23 of the 138 accredited PMVICs are operating, which means that each of these inspection centers will have to inspect an average of 173,913 cars or 476 cars per day, according to Poe.

At the same time, if all private vehicles will pay the amount for the inspection, each PMVIC will earn close to a million pesos daily or P261 million in the first year of operations, assuming they inspect the same number of vehicles and that all cars pass the first inspection.

Poe asked the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Office to submit to the committee the list of PMVICs and their owners.

“Ibinigay ninyo sa pribadong namumuhunan na three years lang mababawi na nila. ‘E kung nasa kanila ng ilang taon 'yan, ‘e ‘di ang laki ng kita nila. Bawi na sila ng tatlong taon,” she said.

'Flawed' reasoning

Poe also slammed DOTr Assistant Secretary Giovanni Lopez for prioritizing private vehicles over public ones in the inspection for roadworthiness.

Lopez explained that the DOTr was supposed to procure a Mobile Vehicle Inspection System for PUVs, but it did not push through due to a failure of bidding.

They then proceeded on the second phase of their program which involves private vehicles, whose standards for roadworthiness will be reassessed and reevaluated to be applied to PUVs.

"Meron tayong standards for private motor vehicles and ito yung sinasabi natin na ilang test po ito, 68 test, 70-point test," Lopez said.

"Sa amin po kailangan namin kasing pag-aralan at i-adjust po na kailangan naming kontian ang standards pagdating po sa PUJs para talagang ma-assess namin at talaga po naman ang PUJs natin po ay pumasa sa ating standards," he added.

But Poe found this explanation "flawed."

"So ang sinasabi mo ngayon nagpapakadakila nga na unahin natin ang private vehicles para makahanap tayo ng paraan na maging mas madali para sa public vehicles? It seems very flawed to me," she said.

"Hindi malinaw sa akin ngayon kung bakit ninyo inuna pa rin ang private vehicles, para sabihin na para padaliin sa public vehicles kaya inuna ninyo ang private vehicles? Anong klaseng dahilan yan," she added.

No legal basis

Senators Ralph Recto and Franklin Drilon also supported the call for the suspension of the implementation of the Motor Vehicle Inspection System, saying that there is no specific law authorizing the LTO to privatize motor vehicle inspection.

Recto also said that the new policy was being implemented at a time when unemployment was high and many workers suffered salary reductions.

“We passed the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) to lower income taxes, corporate taxes, and reduce taxes by a trillion pesos and here we are imposing additional burden to the motoring public, particularly to our middle class who are overburdened already,” he said.

Drilon, on the other hand, said that "the lack of legal basis is a basis for suspending it in the meantime."

DOTr Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Reinier Paul Yebra, however, maintained that the new policy is based on RA 4136 or Land Transportation and Traffic Code, the Philippine Clean Air Act, and Executive Order 125 calling on interest organizations to assist the government in the inspection and registration of vehicles.

Earlier in the hearing, Galvante said they are looking into the possibility of lowering the fees of motor vehicle inspection.

The House of Representatives is set to conduct its own inquiry into the matter on Wednesday. —LDF, GMA News