BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Land Transportation office (LTO-CAR) announced that the supervision and regulation of the private emission testing centers (PETCs) and the private motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVICs) has been turned over to the agency by the Department of transportation and Railways (DOTR) effective immediately.
DOT-CAR regional director Francis Ray Almora welcomed the latest decision of the DOTR leadership to turnover to the LTO the supervision and regulation of the PETCs and PMVICs so that it will be able to assess and evaluate the current situation of the said centers and recommend appropriate measures that will contribute in significantly improving their respective operations.
“We will try to make sure that the existing operation of PETCs and PMVICs will be able to address the concerns of motor vehicle owners. We want that the said centers will be able to provide the needs of our vehicle owners and that their operations should be aligned with our existing mandate to modernize our operations and improve our services to them,” Director Almora stressed.
Previously, the supervision and regulation of PETCs and PMVICs have been under the DOTR that is why the LTO had not been in control of the same through the years that caused various issues and concerns to be raised against such centers by no less than the affected motor vehicle owners.
The LTO-CAR official claimed that the agency will now be given the free hand to make a comprehensive assessment and evaluation on the current status of the PETCs and PMVICs in the country and make the necessary recommendations on the adoption of appropriate polices that will improve the same and to address the prevailing problems on the lack of the said centers in some regions.
According to him, the LTO will now be able to decide to open additional PETCs and PMVICs in strategic areas that need the said centers to address the clogging of motor vehicles in the limited PETCs and PMVICs in various areas around the country.
Under existing laws, rules and regulations, motor vehicles are mandated to undergo the required smoke emission test that will be conducted by the accredited PETCs to ensure that their emission will conform with the prescribed standards before the same are registered with the LTO.
Further, motor vehicles are also required to undergo the road worthiness test that will be done through the PMVICs that should be operational in every region before the same will be registered with the LTO.
Director Almora expressed hope that with the recent decision of the DOTR to turn over the supervision and regulation of the PETCs and PMVICs to the LTO, there will be appropriate adjustments that will be done for the same centers to improve their operations which will be beneficial to the interest of motor vehicle owners because the present issues on the clogging of vehicles in the limited emission testing centers will be addressed.
Moreover, the concerns on the absence of PMVICs in some regions despite the significant number of motor vehicles needing to undergo the road worthiness test will also be given appropriate attention to ensure road safety among motorists.