GRACE POE ON PMVIC

Appeals are good but decisive action is better.

In light of the President's order, I call on the leadership of the DOTr and LTO to officially suspend the implementation of their issuances on the privatized MVIS immediately pending thorough review and stakeholder consultation.

The fees were set by the Department and LTO's own issuances. It is the department's own Department Order 2018-019 which stated that the "DOTr, through the LTO shall issue guidelines for Authorization of PMVIC which shall include... inspection base fees."

Further, in a subsequent Memorandum Circular 2019-009, the DOTr itself said that "inspection fees shall be determined after public consultation conducted by the DOTr in coordination with LTO and LTFRB."

A temporary suspension of fees only begs the question: Why do motorists need to shoulder the burden of the new system?

By all means, just as the DOTr insists that it is within its powers to set this whole PMVIC running, it is also within its power to address the issue of cost and all other issues hounding the privatized MVIS.

The issues on legality of the privatization of MVIS, lack of consultation and transparency in the accreditation of inspection centers, inadequate number of inspection centers in operation, glitches in the system, and the overall incompatibility of PMVICs with LTO's own IT system and the landscape of motor vehicles in the country, all remain unresolved without decisive action from the Department.

We thus welcome the decision of the President to join the Senate Committee on Public Services in its call to immediately suspend the flawed system.

While the intent of making all vehicles roadworthy is good, it must be done properly according to procedure and with more reasonable parameters. We all want safer roads but not at the expense of burdening the motoring public.