CEBU CITY – The Land Transportation Office-Central Visayas (LTO-7) is investigating complaints of extortion perpetrated by some private motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVICs).
LTO-7 Director Victor Emmanuel Caindec said some PMVICs have been accused of intentionally failing inspections to extort money from vehicle owners.
The allegations surfaced after the LTO started implementing online registration renewal in some offices in the country.
"I heard a ‘sumbong’ (report) that some PMVICs threaten to fail your inspection if you don't get the package (which includes registration)," Caindec said in a statement.
"We are gathering details through complaints and we urge the public to report it to us so that we can investigate and we can file necessary legal actions against these PMVICs,” Caindec added.
Caindec revealed a PMVIC in Cebu province is among those being accused of illegal activities. "We cannot divulge the identity of the PMVIC since we have yet to gather more details on the allegation," he said.
As per Department of Transportation (DOTr) Memorandum Circular 2019-009 the Revised Guidelines for the Authorization of Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVICs), authorized PMVIC "alleged to have committed a violation(s) shall be issued a Show Cause Order by the Authorization Committee."
PMVICs found guilty of violating the terms and conditions of their "Authorization Certificate" and the guidelines stated by DOTr may face a minimum penalty of P200,000 and a 30-day suspension and up to the cancellation of their authorization.
LTO started the online renewal of the motor vehicle registrations through its Land Transportation and Management System (LTMS) portal in February.
The online renewal of registration is in line with Republic Act 11032 of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, following the full implementation of the LTMS.