Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade today (Feb. 11) appealed to private vehicle inspections centers (PMVICs) to lower their inspection fees for private vehicles registering with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) from P1,800 to P500-P800 and called for at least one year moratorium on re-inspection fees.
PMVICs collect P1,800 for each vehicle that undergoes testing and another P900 if the vehicle fails the initial tests and need to be re-tested.
"PMVICs should lower their fees to the same rates being offered by Private Emission Testing Centers (PETCs) to ease the burden on motorists while allowing them to comply with road safety requirements during this pandemic," he pointed out.
The concept of having a motor vehicle inspection system (MVIS) prior to a vehicle’s registration with the LTO has been around for the past forty years.
However, it was only during the present administration that the MVIS operated in cooperation with accredited PMVICs.
The rate of registered vehicles involved in road crash incidents prompted proper tests to evaluate the roadworthiness of vehicles prior to registration.
Before, vehicles being registered at the LTO are merely inspected for compliance with the Clean Air Act through a smoke emission test done at PETCs.
According to the Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMARAS), in 2019, a total of 121,771 road crashes were recorded in Metro Manila. An average of 334 road crashes were also recorded daily. Of this, 372 people have died, while 20,466 were hurt.
In addition to a smoke emission check, vehicles being inspected at a PMVIC undergo an automated three stage system that check for roadworthiness in 73 inspection points.
Unlike the old vehicle inspection done by the LTO which is visual, the inspection of vehicles at a PMVIC is automated with limited human intervention.
The testing equipment even require biometric access (fingerprint of the operator) to initialize operation.
Results of the testing done at a PMVIC are sent real time to the PMVIC’s local server and to the LTO’s IT system.
The automation of the system curbs corruption and tampering of results at a PMVIC.
The entire vehicle inspection process is fully documented with the use of closed circuit television cameras (CCTvs).