BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO-CAR) revoked the authority to operate of two private emission testing centers (PETCs) in the region because of various violations in their operations.
LTO-CAR regional director Francis Ray Almora issued a stern warning to other remaining PETCs to ensure that their ongoing operations comply with the standards prescribed in the issued authority to operate so that there will be no unnecessary interruptions in the conduct of the required smoke emission testing of gas and diesel-fed motor vehicles.
At present, there are some 15 PETCs that are actively operating in the different parts of the region, while the authority to operate of 2 PETCs has been revoked and 1 PETC remains non-operational.
The LTO-CAR official claimed that there is 1 PETC in Baguio and another in Kalinga whose authority to operate had been revoked while 1 PETC in Benguet is considered as non-operational.
On the other hand, he disclosed that Benguet had the highest number of operating PETCs with 5 followed by Ifugao and Baguio with 3 PETCs each, Abra – 2 PETCs and Apayao and Mountain Province 1 PETC each.
According to him, the non-operational PETCs are those whose operations had been affected by the implementation of the government’s road widening projects where their areas of operation could no longer accommodate the various types of motor vehicles being subject to the required smoke emission test before the renewal of their registrations.
He pointed out that because of the implementation of the road widening projects along major road networks around the region, the sites of the operating PETCs have been significantly reduced that is why some centers had been asked to relocate to other areas to enable their continued operations without obstructing the smooth flow of traffic.
Director Almora stipulated that the PECTCs affected by the ongoing road widening projects already notified the agency of the problem and these centers were already allowed to look for their relocation sites.
Under existing laws, rules and regulations, all private and public motor vehicles are mandated to undergo and pass the required smoke emission test prior to the renewal of their registration with the agency.
Almora revealed that the potential relocations areas of the affected PETCs will still pass through the stringent assessment and evaluation by the agency before the issuance of their permit to relocate and their subsequent authority to operate once the construction of the facilities have been completed
He asserted that the agency will try to make sure that all operating PETCs will no longer encounter similar problems in the future so that their operations will continue to meet the smoke emission requirements of motor vehicles.