Solon pushes for creation of gov't agency to check cars' roadworthiness

Amid reports of road accidents caused by supposedly defective vehicles, a lawmaker is pushing for the creation of a governing body that will ensure the roadworthiness of automobiles and implement an effective automotive recall system.

Under House Bill 6310 filed by Las Piñas City Rep. Mark Villar, a National Motor Vehicle Safety Administration (NMVSA) will be established as an agency under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

The NMVSA shall primarily be responsible for prescribing motor vehicle safety standards for motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, which will serve as preventive measures; carrying out needed research and development; as well as investigating causes of highway, road and street accidents which in its judgment suggest a potential safety defect involving groups of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment.

The proposed agency's investigation of a particular case may be closed if the manufacturer notifies the NMVSA that it will conduct a safety recall or if government inspectors have not identified a motor vehicle safety-related defect. However, if the agency believes that the data submitted to it indicates the existence of a defect, it shall prepare a briefing to be presented to a panel of experts for peer review.

If the panel concurs with the NMVSA's recommendation that a recall should be conducted, the agency shall notify the manufacturer of the panel's concurrence and may, if appropriate, provide a final opportunity to present new analysis or data. This will be a followed by sending a recall request letter to the manufacturer.

Should the manufacturer decline to conduct a recall, the NMVSA shall issue an initial decision that a safety-related defect exists.

Following a series of public hearings, the NMVSA shall issue a final decision, which the manufacturer could challenge in court.

The proposed agency, however, could also ask the court to compel the manufacturer to recall the defective motor vehicle or automotive equipment.

The bill requires automotive manufacturers to submit to the NMVSA a report regarding any safety-related defect or potential defect it discovers in its vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. The same information should also be relayed to concerned motor vehicle owners, and a recall should be voluntarily implemented. Failure to do so will result in one year imprisonment and a fine of P10 million.

Villar, chair of the House of Representatives committee on trade and industry, said a recall system for motor vehicles similar to what Japan started in 1969 should be put in place to prevent statistics on road accidents caused by defective automobiles from rising.

“The mechanism obliges manufacturers to collect and repair safety-deficient vehicles that are 'perceived' to have design flaws or manufacturing defects. Hindi pa man napapatunayan, kinokolekta na to prevent further injury,” he said.

In the first half of 2015, the Philippine National Police (PNP)–Highway Patrol Group (HPG) already reported that 567 persons died and 5,220 others were injured in 11,285 traffic accidents nationwide.

Earlier this year, Villar's panel looked into reports about the frequent sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) incidents involving Mitsubishi Montero sport utility vehicles (SUVs). In a hearing last May, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) said it had recorded 97 cases of SUAs involving the Montero model.

Following the probe, the House committee adopted a motion urging the Department of Trade and Industry to order and pull out the vehicle model in the market until the SUA issue has been resolved.

Villar said the congressional hearings on the SUA issue surrounding the Montero SUV model brought into the open the country's weak enforcement of laws for automotive safety. He noted that under the Road Vehicles Law of Japan, automotive companies are fined up to 200 million yen for hiding safety defects and failing to recall the deficient vehicles or making false reports on vehicle defects.

“The same set of standard should be available to our consumers. Filipinos does not deserve anything less,” he said. —Xianne Arcangel/ALG, GMA News