A leader of the House of Representatives on Wednesday is seeking a congressional inquiry into what he described as unconscionable delay in the smoke emission testing of motor vehicles before they are registered with the Land Transportation Office.
Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City’s second district filed House Resolution 742 in response to complaints reaching his office about delays of up to two weeks due to the lack of emission testing centers accredited by the Department of Transportation and the LTO.
What is worse is that if a car owner fails to register his vehicle with the LTO on time due to the delay, the LTO collects a penalty for late registration that is not entirely the owner’s fault, said Rodriguez, chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments.
“The DOTr and the LTO are penalizing car owners for these agencies’ failure to accredit a sufficient number of emission test centers that are easily accessible to the public that they should serve,” he said.
Rodriguez cited as an example Cagayan de Oro City, where “complaints have been filing up because what is happening is that owners of motor vehicles have to line up very early in the morning for four-five hours in order to get a number.”
“After getting their numbers, they wait for them to be called for an appointment for their emission test, which is at least two weeks away. This results in the owners having to pay penalties for late registration of their vehicles,” he said.
In some instances, Rodriguez said accredited test centers are located far from the place of residence or work of car owners, who are forced to travel long distances to comply with the smoke check requirement.
He pointed out that under Republic Act 8749, or the Philippine Clear Air Act of 1999, the DOTr is mandated to implement emission standards for motor vehicles and to set up or authorize a sufficient number of smoke test facilities.
“As a result of the law, private emission testing centers (PETCs) were put up. However, the DOTr has been shutting down PETCs for violating the law and falsifying test results, allowing car owners to still register their vehicles even if their vehicles fail to pass the emission standards,” he said.
He said the DOTr and the LTO should be commended for doing their job “but they should find a way to accredit more legitimate PETcs to ensure strict compliance with the law.”
Rodriguez cited a report of the newly formed Clear Air Movement of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi), an association of smoke test center operators, that 70 percent of the 1,819 authorized emission test centers nationwide have been shut down due to violations.
“The closure of these PETCs hit some areas of the country harder, forcing motor vehicle owners to go out of their way and spend more to travel to other centers tens of kilometers away,” he said.
He said the concerned government agencies should immediately address the problem and for the House to inquire into it.