Department of Transportation (DoTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade appealed on Thursday, Feb. 11, to operators of private motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVICs) to lower the fees that they charge to motorists as well as to suspend their re-inspection fees for a year.
(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
"I am appealing to PMVIC owners -- show your solidarity with the administration. Lower your inspection fees to the current rates being charged by PETC (private emission testing centers), and waive the reinspection fee during this pandemic," Tugade said in Filipino.
Under Land Transportation Office (LTO) Memorandum Circular 2018- 2518, PMVICs may charge an inspection fee of P1,800 on motor vehicles weighing 4,500 kilograms or less, and a P900 re-inspection fee should it fail the initial series of tests.
Tugade is basically asking PMVICs to reduce their initial inspection fees to as low as P500 to P800, which is the rate charged by PETCs.
The DOTr chief made the call amid mounting complaints from the public and lawmakers over the exorbitant testing fees, which they said were an additional burden to Filipinos amid the pandemic.
"With this, we are not sacrificing the more stringent process of ensuring vehicles are checked for roadworthiness prior to registration. But we are also avoiding putting additional burdens on motorists," he explained.
"The Palace said let us strike a balance between public safety and the needs of our countrymen, especially now that we are in a pandemic. I will work for and with them to achieve this purpose," Tugade added.
The Vehicle Inspection Center Operators Association of the Philippines (VICOAP) last week insisted that the fees being charged by PMVICs were "reasonable," given that it covers a 70-point vehicle roadworthiness check that is more comprehensive than the old emission testing.