The Department of Transportation (DOTr) hopes to authorize by first quarter of next year the operation of private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (MVICs) that will determine roadworthiness of vehicles, including trucks.
DOTr Undersecretary for road transport and infrastructure Mark Richmund De Leon, in his keynote speech during the 2019 Transport and Logistics Expo on August 15, said the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is already handling the registration of MVICs which will implement the Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS) of the government.
Last February, DOTr issued Department Order (DO) 2019-002, the revised order on the privatization of MVICs through authorization. Given government’s tedious procurement process, De Leon said it would be faster for the private sector to establish MVICs.
With privately run MVICs, the government will veer away from the maximum age policy for trucks, he said. Instead of observing the current policy of a maximum age of 15 years old for trucks, MVICs will “dictate if that vehicle is indeed roadworthy.”
“So if a vehicle, no matter if it’s 20 years old, 30 years old, as long as that vehicle passes that Motor Vehicle Inspection System, it can run the streets, it can deliver the goods,” De Leon pointed out.
Truckers have long argued that roadworthiness, not truck age, should be the basis for the grant of a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) or franchise.
LTO will monitor operations of MVICs to ensure compliance with specifications and standards set by the government.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairman Martin Delgra III earlier said that once the government establishes the MVIS, roadworthiness will become the basis for granting CPCs to public utility vehicles, including trucks.
While hopeful MVICs will be operational in the first quarter of next year, DOTr senior consultant Alberto Suansing in a chance interview with PortCalls on August 15 noted that accreditation of MVIC operators, which also covers those for other types of vehicles, is slow. – Roumina Pablo
