By TED CORDERO, GMA News
Published February 11, 2021 11:41am Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Thursday appealed to private motor vehicle inspections centers (PMVICs) to lower fees collected from private motorists for the inspection of their vehicles prior to registration with the Land Transportation Office (LTO). In a statement, Tugade also called on PMVICs to suspend the collection of fees for re-inspection for at least one year. According to the Department of Transportation ((DOTr), PMVICs collect P1,800 for each vehicle that will undergo testing and another P900 should the vehicle fail the initial series of tests and will have to be re-tested.
MANILA, Feb. 11 As an act of solidarity and a way of heeding the call of motorists, officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announce that Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (PMVIC) owners have decided to heed the appeal of DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade’s to lower the current PMVIC inspection fee, level it with the current fee of PETCs while there is a pandemic, and waive for one year the reinspection fee for private and public utility vehicles (PUVs).
The move was announced in a virtual press conference today, 11 February 2021, led by DOTr Assistant Secretary for Procurement and Project Implementation and concurrent Chief of Staff Giovanni Lopez, Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Atty. Reinier Paul Yebra, Land Transportation Office (LTO) Executive Director Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante, and other road transport stakeholders.
Published February 9, 2021, 3:00 AM
The Vehicle Inspection Center Operators Association of the Philippines (VICOAP), the largest group with 80 Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVICs) located in various parts of the country, has pledged its support for the government’s program to increase the standards of roadworthiness. This commitment will also help in reducing the number of vehicular accidents which lead to an annual death toll of 12,000, a number that is greater than the COVID-19 deaths that were incurred in 2020.
PMVICs were developed as part of a government initiative that first launched the Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS) in 1983 in order to ensure that the land-based vehicles, four-wheel and two-wheel alike, are capable and deemed safe to travel the roads.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
In a media forum on Monday, officials from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) said the MVIS program has already been “long-delayed” as it was mapped out more than 12 years ago already.
LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante reiterated the need for Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVICs) in the country to ensure that all private vehicles on the road are roadworthy.
“With MVIC, ang kailangan talaga, hindi yung modelo ng sasakyan kundi its roadworthiness. Kaya malaking tulong na ma-put up natin itong MVIC para we can have the benefit of having a scientific, methodical, and very systematic checking of the roadworthiness of a vehicle,” Galvante said.