BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
Testing and check-ups for road worthiness of light motor vehicles will now be under Authorized Private Motor Vehicles Inspection Centers, district head Reuben Tampos of the Land Transportation Office in Bacolod City, said yesterday.
Tampos said this is based on the memorandum circular issued by LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante, who ordered that, prior to registration, all motor vehicles covered should be road worthy and compliant with the accepted emission standards, they will need to be checked by authorized PMVICs.
Unfortunately despite having a wide scope, Tampos said, there is only one accredited PMVIC under LTO Bacolod District which is Cimatech located at the Bacolod reclamation area.
Bacolod LTO District also covers the cities of Talisay, Silay and Bago and the town of Murcia.
“We are also worried that the volume of vehicles will increase and that they may not all be accommodated,” he said.
“We were caught by surprise as well, as we have not conducted an information drive about it thoroughly, yet we need to implement this memorandum as soon as possible,” he said.
Asked if there are other PMVIC applying for accreditation, Tampos said the application does not pass through the LTO as the approving authority is the Department of Transportation.
Tampos clarified also that emission centers can still operate as their permits are still valid but they can only inspect vehicles with gross weight of 4,501 kilograms. Seven emission centers are operating in Bacolod City alone.*
