Poe to recommend suspension of private vehicle inspection centers

Senator Grace Poe will be recommending the suspension of the operation of private motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVICs) amid unresolved issues and concerns hounding the system.

Interviewed on ANC on Wednesday, Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Services, said she will be submitting the committee report from their inquiry into the PMVIC issue next week, with the primary recommendation to suspend it.

"The most important action that we will recommend is for the immediate suspension of these private motor vehicle testing centers," she said.

"First of all, the government is not ready. It's under very suspicious terms that they approved these centers. And the people would be paying more out of pocket," she added.

Poe said calling for the suspension of PMVIC operations was the "unanimous" decision of the senators who attended the inquiry on the matter on Tuesday.

"We can't really impose our will on the executive, although with our oversight function, we can submit a committee report with a recommendation to suspend this," she said.

The government is privatizing motor vehicle inspection through PMVICs, with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) 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 that laid out the guidelines authorizing PMVICs.

The policy authorizes private inspection centers to collect an inspection fee of P1,800 from motor vehicles weighing 4,500 kilograms or less. If the vehicle fails the test, it will be required to undergo necessary repairs and taken back to the private inspection centers, where the motorist is charged an additional P900 reinspection fee to obtain clearance.

Motorcycles and tricycles are also charged P600 for the inspection fee and P300 for reinspection.

Poe has questioned the timing of the policy's implementation, considering that many people are still suffering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are still in the middle of a pandemic with no definite end in sight. Hindi ba puwedeng timeout muna habang nasa gitna pa tayo ng pandemya?" 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.

The House of Representatives is conducting its own investigation into the matter on Wednesday. —KBK, GMA News