Senators on Wednesday reiterated their call against the transportation department's privatization of the Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS).
This, as Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, endorsed for plenary approval the panel's report which recommended the repeal of the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Order 2018-19 and all related issuances that allowed the operations of private motor vehicles inspection centers (PMVICs).
"There will be no definitive relief as long as the original issuances are not repealed pending resolution of the issues hounding the system," Poe said in her sponsorship speech on Committee Report No. 184 during their February 24 session.
"I hope we can help ease the burden by calling for the immediate end to the oppressive, anomalous and extraordinarily flawed Privatization of the Motor Vehicle Inspection System," added the senator.
Supporting the committee report, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto maintained that the PMVIC was "an example of overreach" by the implementing agencies.
"I concede that the intention behind the project is laudable. There is no disagreement that the privilege to own a car carries with it the responsibility to make it safe to operate at all times. Neither is there any debate as to government’s right to impose standards of roadworthiness of vehicles," Recto said.
"When a program is conceived in mistake, its implementation goes down on a trail of errors," he stressed.
Poe, citing the report, said there were "several glaring and serious issues" in the current implementation of the MVIS, such as the lack of transparency in the accreditation of the PMVICs, lack of consultation with local executives and stakeholders and the alleged failure of the inspection hubs to comply with legal requirements before operating.
The same report also recommended to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to further look into the alleged anomalies in the accreditation of the PMVICs.
Earlier this month, President Duterte ordered the suspension of the MVIS and that no new or additional fees should be charged for the registration of vehicles in the Land Transportation Office.