Guadiz vs. Tamayo

By Leonardo Micua

 

LAST Thursday, we were happy to read the online news of Philstar Global that the senate committee on public services headed by Senator Grace Poe is set to conduct an investigation in aid of legislation on the operations of the Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers  (PMVIC).

The PMVIC is being denounced nationwide by owners of vehicles for being charged P1,800 for inspecting road worthiness of vehicles, in addition to the P4,500 registration or renewal of their vehicles.

The day before, LTO Regional Director Teofilo Guadiz Jr. in a zoom with KBP Pangasinan from his office in San Fernando City, La Union, defended the PMVIC and challenged the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod for passing two resolutions questioning the PMVIC.

Guadiz insinuated the Dagupan SP again doesn’t know what it is doing just like it did with its helmet ordinance few years ago when it sought to make motorcycle riders remove their helmets when passing the downtown area for easier identification to curb crimes perpetrated by motorcycle riders. Guadiz then argued that the national helmet law takes precedence over the local helmet law.

The author of that local helmet law was Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo, who also initiated the passage of the two measures, one addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte and DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade, while the other asked Mayor Brian Lim to re-evaluate the business permit issued to Bily Transport Inc. and if warranted to cause its recall.

As gleaned from its two resolutions, the city councilors, with the exception of Councilor Celia Lim and her two allies in the legislative body, are providing the check and balance in Dagupan City, as true guardians of public interests.

Joey Tamayo argued that the there is no law that authorized the establishment of PMVICs and a mere memorandum circular from the Department of Transportation authorizing the collection cannot be used as legal basis.

He added that LTO can not surrender its mandate to inspect vehicles for registration to a private entity which cannot even issue official receipts for monies received.

Guadiz, a former councilor of Dagupan at about the  same time when Tamayo was serving his first of three-year term in the council, challenged the city council to go to court and would face them just like what he did when he questioned Tamayo’s local helmet ordinance.

Meanwhile, some LTO offices have reportedly temporarily stopped processing applications to await the results of the senate investigation because of the possibility that the new policy might be withdrawn. Will the delay in the renewal of registration of expired registrations lead to penalties?  We sure hope not.

*          *          *          *

I doubt if the old, dilapidated passenger jeepneys will pass the PMVIC’s touted standard of road worthiness, not even after spending on the defects, and therefore, could be used to as the policy to fully phase out the old jeepneys.

These will likely be ordered to be re-inspected and will be made to pay PMVIC another P900 for the service. By demanding fees twice for the same service makes the new system not only anti-poor, but a deceitful tactic to give way to e-jeepneys imported from—-hold your breath—China.

This could trigger another uproar in the midst of the pandemic, which the nation can ill afford at this time after President Duterte acknowledged that the national economy is sinking because of COVID-19.

Note that when LTO announced that it would postpone the implementation of the law providing for child restraints or car seats inside private four-wheel vehicles, after it said it would be implemented, all available car seats in the market were all sold out. Was that by design?

*          *          *          *

A news story by Agence France Presse published in the Philippine Star about the arrest of more than 80 people in China last February 2 for making counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines alarmed many.

If there are fake COVID-19 vaccines in China, the possibility that these would reach PH in time will further boost resistance of our people to the vaccines. Our government must doubly ensure that there will no fake vaccines that will be served to our countrymen.

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments