ILOILO City – Transport groups and motorists here are still not in favor of the “no inspection, no registration” policy or motor vehicle inspection system (MVIS) recently revived by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“Sang last time ginbalabagan ‘na naton, kita man nagbira-bira nga indi madayun,” said Raymundo Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA).
In February this year, President Rodrigo Duterte suspended the MVIS due to intense protests from the public transport sector.
On July 5, however, DOTr issued Memorandum Circular No. MC-SC-2021-02 that set the guidelines for the Lad Transportation Office (LTO) to only accept inspection reports from authorized private motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVICs) in designated areas.
In Western Visayas, this policy is so far being enforced in Bacolod City and Capiz province as these are the only areas in the region with PMVICs accredited by LTO.
When Iloilo City – and other areas in Region 6 – gets its own PMVIC accredited, the policy would be enforced, too.
“Kon ma-implement na di, 98-99 percent sang public utility jeepneys (PUJs) indi kapasar tungod ang aton sarakyan indi brand new,” Parcon told Panay News.
Parcon said there were more or less 12,000 units of PUJs in Region 6.
Under DOTr’s MVIS, motor vehicles must hurdle the inspection on not less than 60 parts of the vehicle, including the engine, hand break, speedometer, clutch, signal light, and stop light, among others.
Vehicles that fail to pass the inspection must address the deficiencies found and have to be re-inspected.
There are inspection fees to pay:
* for light vehicles – P600 plus P70 value added tax (VAT)
* for public utility jeepneys (PUJs) – P300 plus P30 VAT
* for motorcycles and tricycles – P500 plus P60 VAT
Previously, the inspection fee ranged between P1,500 and P1,800.
Despite the adjustment, Parcon said, “Ti mabalik-balik ka gyapun.”
“Kon indi kaw kapasar ti maggatos ka pa, kay kay-uhon mo ang part sang salakyan nga indi kapasar,” he added.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has affected the drivers’ income, too, he said.
Parcon said if the “no inspection, no registration” policy will be implemented, it must be when all PUJ units are modernized.
Parcon said their processing is ongoing. In fact, he said, they are just waiting for the Local Public Transport Route Plan in order for them to loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines.
Parcon appealed to LTO to forego the policy and stick with the original requirements prior to registration – smoke emission testing in Private Emission Testing Centers (PETC) and visual check by LTO personnel.
Parcon also plans writing the DOTr and LTO as well as Congress through Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go on the matter.
Meanwhile, operators of modernized jeepneys welcomed the policy, according to Rizal Alido, board secretary of the Iloilo City Alliance Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative (ICAODTC) and president of the City Loop Integrated Alliance of Jeepney Owners and Drivers’ Association (CLIAJODA).
Modern jeeps could certainly pass the inspection, Alido said.
However, he asked, how about the traditional ones?
“Sa mga ruta nga waay pa sang modernized units, hagan-haganon ‘ta anay,” Alido said. “Importante ang aton mga commuters nga ma-serbisyohan ta at this pandemic.”
Robert Dela Peña, a taxi driver for 30 years, opposed the policy.
“Indi gid eh kay ti kapigado daan subong mabayad ka pa sa amo ‘na (vehicle inspection),” Dela Peña told Panay News.
Dela Peña said if his taxi fails the first inspection, there’s a possibility he would stop driving as there would be LTO personnel running after those who have not registered their vehicles.
He also believes that now is not the best time to implement the “no inspection, no registration” policy.
Meanwhile, Ramid Guay, a taxi driver from Barangay Bolilao, Mandurriao district, is concerned of additional expenses.
For Guay, there are other ways to determine a vehicle’s roadworthiness.
“Indi na puede nga sa edad na lang sila base? Kay damo pa sila karon nga violation nga madiskubrehan (sa inspection) kundi madugang pa gid ang balayran,” said Guay.
Driver Gilbert Balsamo of Concepcion, Iloilo, on the other hand, was in favor of the policy.
“Okay gid ako kay amo gid ran dapat ang kinahanglan…We follow the rules and regulations,” Balsamo said./PN
