ILOILO City – A transport group here is opposing the policy of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) requiring all motor vehicles to be inspected by private vehicle inspection centers before registration.
Ninety-nine percent of the more or less 12,000 public utility jeepneys in the city and province of Iloilo will flunk the inspection should the LTO enforce its Memorandum Circular Number 2018-2158, according to Raymundo “Boyet” Parcon of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators’ and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA).
Memorandum Circular No. 2018-2158 set the guidelines for the authorization of private motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVICs).
PMVICs are privately-owned automated vehicle inspection facilities that will not only check a vehicle’s compliance with emission standards but will also test its roadworthiness prior to registration.
To pass the inspection, Parcon said all of the vehicle’s accessories – engine, hand break, speedometer, clutch, signal light, and stop light – must have no defects.
“Once nga mag-register kami kag ipasulod sa PMVIC, indi kami ya makapasar kay ti ang jeep namon maskin in condition, kulang-kulang ang accessories, wala pa iban gagana,” said Parcon.
ICLAJODA, he added, will ask the LTO to defer the implementation of the memorandum until the jeepney modernization is already in full swing.
Parcon said they have until March this year to shift into modernized jeepneys.
Transport groups from Iloilo City, Iloilo province, Antique, and Aklan consolidated and formed the Western Visayas Transport Cooperative (WVTC) for the said modernization.
For now, Parcon said, they are processing their bank loans to procure 700 target units of modernized jeepneys.
He stressed that if majority of the PUJs in the city will not be renewed for failure to pass the inspection, public transportation will also be affected since jeepneys will not be allowed to go on trips.
The inspection fee for PMVIC costs P1,800 for four-wheeled vehicles and P600 for motorcycles.
“Nagapangayo kami sang konsiderasyon kay ara pa kita sa pandemic,” Parconl lamented.
In Roxas City, Capiz, there is already an operational PMVIC while seven others will be established in the city and province of Iloilo./PN
