Thread by @cnnphilippines

THREAD: Senate committees hold a joint hearing on the proposed deferment of the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act | LIVE bit.ly/3cVCXn8

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@pplmanuel Senate Committee on Public Services Chair Grace Poe: Ang unang pakay ng hearing natin ay pagtalakay sa mga issue ng private motor vehicle inspection system. While it's long overdue, I see the need to mention the issues made known to this committee

cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/2/3/…

@pplmanuel Sen. Poe cites issues such as costly fees for inspection, which come despite the current pandemic

@pplmanuel Sen. Poe: Para sa isang sistema na maraming problema, masasabi ba nating makatwiran ang mga bayaring ito? Dapat kabahagi ang mga motorista sa paghulma ng ganitong kalaking polisiya

Sen. Poe says the second part of this hearing would tackle the implementation of the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, while the last part would discuss the requirement of wearing face masks in private vehicles

Sen. Poe: This is a venue for gov't to explain why face masks are necessary even when people in the vehicle come from the same household

LTO chief Edgar Galvante: Motor vehicle inspection centers run by LTO have been put up as early as mid-1990s, where several facilities were set up with JICA's help. These were distributed nationwide but may not be enough, some regions didn't have centers

LTO chief on old motor vehicle inspection centers: Nung nanghihingi kami ng pondo i-rehabilitate ito, wala pong nabigay at the time. Baka through private sector's participation, map-put up po ito

LTO chief: Pinag-aralan po 'yan, and eventually i-offer sa mga interesadong firms para maitayo ang mga MVICs. Kaya gumawa ng pamantayan ang DOTr

LTO chief says for areas with no MVICs, certifications from accredited private emission testing centers (PETCs) will still be recognized by the agency for registration

LTO chief says newly established MVICs can only entertain light vehicles for now or those with gross weight up to 4,500 kg: 'Yung pang-medium o heavy (vehicles), kasalukuyang binabalangkas ang guidelines

LTO chief says none of the funds collected from motor vehicles users charges were used in constructing, rehabilitating MVICs

LTO chief says there are around 4 million private vehicles in the country, excluding motorcycles.

LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra says there are about 400,000 public utility vehicles in PH.

Sen. Poe: If you wanted to test the capability of these centers, it would have been easier and probably better to test public vehicles first. Bakit inuna niyo ang private vehicles?

LTO chief: Kasama po ang public vehicles sa current PVICs, pero limited lang po tayo sa 4,500kg (gross vehicle weight)

DOTr Assistant Secretary Giovanni Lopez says the Road Board initially gave them funding to procure mobile vehicle inspection systems for PUVs: Binigay natin sa PITC yan para i-procure, there was a failure in bidding, nagrevert ang pondo sa Treasury

DOTr Asec. Lopez: We recognize there's a need for us to reassess standards for private motor vehicles parang yung PUVs, pumasa naman po without sacrificing minimum roadworthiness standards

Sen. Poe: Di malinaw sa akin ngayon bakit inuna niyo pa rin ang private vehicles. Para sabihin para padaliin sa PUVs? Anong klaseng dahilan yan?

Sen. Joel Villanueva asks to clarify what transport authorities meant when they said inspection fees are "under negotiation"

VICOAP President Inigo Larrazabal on inspection fees: Our pricing is ₱1,500 for light vehicles, ₱600 for motorcycles. When we were invited back in 2018 to invest in this program, it was actually published at ₱1,800 and ₱600. Nung naka-invest na kami, binabaan po ang presyo

Sen. Villanueva: We are asking a private inspection company questions. Di po ba dapat ang gobyerno, ang LTO na nangangalaga nito ang on top of this?

After being asked on compatibility with LTO's system, VICOAP President clarifies they are following strict standards but they purchase different brands of equipment across inspection centers

LTO chief:' Yung complaints na nakakarating samin, cinacall namin 'yung attention ng MVIC identified at pinapag-explain namin sila.

He says if the MVIC fails to provide acceptable explanations, it will be subject to sanctions.

PamCham President Rene Romero recounts his experience with PMVICs as a private car owner: Pinatest po ang aking sasakyan, first test bumagsak 'yung breaks sa likod. To my surprise ito, kakagaling lang sa preventive maintenance service ng sasakyan ko

Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor: Our province is the first to complain with LTO (on this issue). On its first day of implementation, we experienced people flocking to the LTO office, leading to social distancing violations

Oriental Mindoro governor says they wrote to the LTO chief to temporarily suspend the system's implementation until issues are resolved: We have yet to receive a response from Asec. Galvante's office

Oriental Mindoro governor: Ang aming motorcycle riders, nagccomplain. Ang aming private vehicle owners, nagccomplain. Pagkatapos nila ng PMS, pasado. Pagdating dito sa facility, bagsak

Oriental Mindoro governor: May issues din na di ganon ka-technically equipped mga technicians na nagh-handle sa kanila. Ito ang mga dapat i-resolve muna ng LTO bago i-implement [itong system]

San Fernando, La Union Vice Mayor Alfred Ortega supports the Oriental Mindoro governor's call to suspend for now the operations of PMVICs.

He says some residents still have to undergo testing in other centers given the issues, leading to more fees.

San Fernando, La Union vice mayor says their local PMVIC asks motorists to sign a waiver: Sabi nga ng isang motorista sa isang dayalogo, kung ikaw ba magpapa-check up sa doctor, kailangan mo ba pumirma ng waiver na wag ka magreklamo kung anumang kalalabasang resulta?

Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption president Arsenio Evangelista: Kami po ay tutol sa implementation ng PMVICs. Walang thorough public consultation, at alam nating pag walang ganito, may possible korupsyon.

VACC president also cites exorbitant fees for inspection: Anything entailing expenses is wrong timing amid this pandemic

VACC president: Meron na tayong mapait na experiences years back: nagbabayad tayo para sa plaka, lisensya, stickers pero after about eight years, di pa natin nakukuha. Nagkaroon ba ng accountability sa mga pumirma dito that time?

VACC president: Bakit isang attached gov't agency, dahil may department order, mage-enter into a contract with private entities to operate these? Based on COA reports, we have enough money to supervise, operate these centers

LTO chief: Ang batayan sa renewal ng [vehicle] registration ay roadworthiness... Kahit ito ay luma o bago, ang batayan ay roadworthiness

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto to LTO: Hindi maliwanag sakin what law authorizes you to privatize these private centers. Ang tingin ko diya, overreach masyado.

Sen. Recto: Wala akong nakikitang batas na nagsasabing binibigyan kayo ng kapangyarihan i-privatize ito. Kung saka-sakaling meron, hindi sa charter niyo pero dapat dumaan kayo ng NEDA.

LTO chief: Pinresent ito nung nanghingi tayo ng pondo di lang sa Senado kundi pati sa Road Board. Kahit ngayon, nagssubmit kami para mabigyan ng pondo

Sen. Recto: I don't recall you coming to Congress/Senate asking for funding for this or to pass a law authorizing you to do this

DOTr Asec. Lopez to Sen. Recto: For the number of 138 (inspection centers), this was based on LTO's study. The DOTr Sec. recognizes there's a need for more centers, issued a new department order increasing the number by another 209. All in all, magiging 300+ 'yan

DOTr Asec. Lopez presents inspection fees in other East Asian countries for comparison

LTO chief on public consultation for new vehicle inspection centers: Nagkaroon po yan sa lahat ng region. Dinirect natin ang regional directors mag-conduct nito, inimbita nila ang publiko rito

DOTr Asec. Lopez: We don't accredit specific equipment distributors, we accredit the center itself. What LTO provides are technical specs for the system. Any center can go the market to exercise due diligence, check which distributors can comply with the specs

Sen. Recto: I think we should suspend the implementation of this program until we find a better way forward

Sen. Recto: Ang laki na ng binabayaran ng middle class natin and during a time of pandemic. Andaming nawalan ng trabaho, yung may trabaho, malaki nabawas sa sweldo

Sen. Recto on DOTr Asec. Mark Pastor's presentation: This is why I said earlier, dumaan ba sa NEDA? When you make a presentation like this, you're not taking into consideration purchasing power parity. That's not up your alley, DOTr

Sen. Recto: We are a poorer country than Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China. If you use purchasing power parity, those numbers will change dramatically

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon: On the basis of answers to our colleagues' questions, opinions expressed, I think there is sufficient basis to urge the LTO and DOTr to suspend this system... Which law would allow you to conduct the motor vehicle inspection system?

DOTr Usec. for Legal Affairs Atty. Reinier Paul Yebra: The basis we used are the following: Land Transportation and Traffic Code under RA 4136. Meron pong requirement na before registering, we must make sure vehicles are safe, road-worthy

Sen. Imee Marcos interjects: I've read that again and again, Sec. 5 and 6, there is no mention of any point of inspection.

DOTr Usec. Yebra also cites the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, EO 125.

DOTr. Asec Lopez: There was a MOA between DOTr and PITC wherein the latter was tapped for procurement for the mobile vehicle inspection system, unfortunately there was a failure of bidding.

He says the funding for this was immediately reverted to the Treasury upon said failure.

LTO chief: LTO is not keeping any funds, any collections we make are turned over to the Treasury

Sen. Drilon asks whether a regulatory function of gov't can be delegated to the private sector.

DOTr Usec. Yebra: If we follow EO 125, we can call on them to assist us.

Sen. Drilon: EO 125 is not a legislative enactment.

Sen. Marcos on new system for vehicle inspection: Bakit nagpupumiglas kayo ng December? Eh halos walang tao sa kalye

DOTr Asec. Pastor: In Metro Manila, in 2019 we have set a record-high of 121,771 road crashes based on MMDA data. This equates to an average of 344 cases per day, the highest in PH history

DOTr Asec. Pastor: We would like to address the issues on roadworthiness.

He reiterates public consultation was held prior to the implementation of this program.

DOTr Asec. Pastor: Di naman po sa nagmamadali pero ang amin po kasi, kahit nasa gitna tayo ng pandemya, patuloy pa rin pong nangyayari ang ganitong mga aksidente. Maigi pong ma-address ito

Sen. Nancy Binay: Importante unang ma-inspect ang mga bus, heavy vehicles kasi sila ang prone to accidents. Since di sila covered sa PMVIC, sinong nagi-inspect sa kanila?

LTO chief clarifies they will still go through emission tests with PETCs, visual inspection with LTO while they cannot go through PMVICs

Sen. Marcos: This is really the usurpation of this chamber's legislative authority. What has been delegated cannot be re-delegated, certainly not to the private sector

Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri on new inspection system: We need to find a balance for what is safe for people on-ground and what's affordable for them

Sen. Poe: It's not always bad to have a public-private partnership or let the private sector run something.

She cites as examples the administration of Mactan-Cebu International Airport, which is done by Megawide; SMC securing a franchise for the Bulacan airport project.

Sen. Poe: The problem here is I don't think this went through an actual bidding for the private sector to be involved

Prof. Grace Jamon asks the DOTr to focus resources on improving people's mobility options instead through increasing public transit supply, active transport like infrastructure, bike lanes

Road safety advocate Atty. Neil Sia: Ang causes of accidents na minention kanina, makikita natin puro reckless driving. Kung meron mang unworthy cars, ito yung mga heavy vehicles tulad ng dump trucks, wing vans na exempted ngayon sa PMVIC

Road safety advocate: Nag-dialogue sila noon, nakita nila itong mga problema. Pero ngayong nag-implement sila, ang layo ng sagot

Sen. Villanueva: As mentioned a while ago, kung kulang ang items sa LTO, gov't agencies para magampanan tungkulin nila, we're here to help. Tell us paano, di 'yung ganito

Sen. Villanueva: Legally, morally, practically speaking, however you look at this program, kailangan isuspend muna ito dahil kulang na kulang ang consultation, 'yung mga complaints

Sen. Binay: Kunyari, we do suspend this program, mawawala na ba talaga totally ang roadworthiness test for private vehicles? Or can they go to LTO centers for testing?

Road safety advocate: Ang LTO, may inspection fee pag nagpapa-register tayo, meron silang personnel sa field. Ang kulang na lang, magka-professionalism sa LTO kung saan next time, may technical knowledge yung magi-inspect

VICOAP president invites senators to visit their centers: We would be more than happy to answer and submit ourselves to your questions

The Senate hearing is now discussing the requirement of face masks for private vehicles

Sen. Villanueva: Nakakalungkot we're calling a hearing tapos not a single government agency is aware of what we wanted to know, what we're looking for clarification

LTO chief on requiring face masks in private vehicles: Batay ito sa pinalabas na IATF, sinusunod lang po natin through DOTr's guidance bit.ly/2LC4bEa

Sen. Marcos on requiring face masks in private vehicles: Papayuhan ko lang 'yung IATF at LTO. Baka kailangan matulog na kayo't magpahinga. Kasabay nito na walang katuturan ay sinasabing gov't employees are exempted from border protocols.

https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines/status/1357599593450463232

The Senate hearing now moves on to the implementation of the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act.

Former Senator JV Ejercito, the measure's author, provides background on it: Unfortunately this law, which had good intentions, was muddled already.

Ex-Sen. Ejercito: According to PSA data, car accidents were the leading cause of death for children aged 1-12 in 2006-2015, with drowning coming in second

Ex-Sen. Ejercito: Ayon sa batas, the DOTr, LTO and other agencies are tasked to submit to Congress after a year recommendations on how child restraint systems can be fit in PUVs

Ex-Sen. Ejercito: The law has good intention but its implementation has been timely and illogical, we are in a pandemic now

cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/2/3/…

LTO chief: There's a provision there that insofar as PUVs are concerned, the DOTr, LTO will submit recommendations to Congress so appropriate enactment can be done. So far, this has not been done yet

LTO chief says there's no implementation of the law on LTO's end for PUVs undertaken at the moment

Sen. Koko Pimentel to DOTr, LTO: Comply with the law. Recommendation lang po 'yun. Recommend to Congress what to do with the law in relation to PUVs

Sen. Villanueva questions agencies' implementation of regular information education, communication campaign within 6 months of the act's passage: What activities have these agencies taken between Feb. 2019 and Aug. 2019 in light of this provision?

DOTr Asec. Pastor: We conducted several campaign achievements: TV commercials, print ads, media placements through radio, TV... However, we also acknowledge when we were supposed to have a seminar in March, it was canceled because we were already on lockdown then

DOTr Asec. Pastor to Sen. Villanueva: We recognize we could have done more po

DOTr Asec. Pastor: We will defer po the implementation of accreditation of fitting stations

Sen. Poe on fitting stations: This has to be free of charge. This also has to be voluntary on the motoring public's part. Do not require them to go, this is their lookout already

Sen. Villanueva: I'm here to emphasize all the more our implementing government agencies are not ready. If they're not ready to implement the law, we have all the reason to suspend its implementation

DTI-BPS Director Neil Catajay: 'Yung conformity assessment bodies po, sila nagp-perform ng inspection at verification. Naga-accept din po kami ng test reports issued by third-party testing laboratories

DTI-BPS Director: Meron kaming 9 inspection bodies. Wala pa ho tayong testing labs, pero sa ating technical regulation ay nilagay nating in the absence of these labs, we will accept test reports from international testing labs with proper accreditation

DTI-BPS Director: We can help motorists, pwede nila dalhin child car seats nila sa DTI so we can do a visual, initial check. If okay sila, we can issue ICC stickers para pag nasa kalsada na, di na magkaproblema sa LTO enforcers with LTO's permission (1/2)

DTI-BPS Director: Sa consumers, we can accommodate, ginawa na natin ito dati sa mga helmets (2/2)

DTI-BPS Director clarifies motorists with child car seats that don't have the said sticker certification yet will be allowed to consult them

Sen. Bong Go says it's only proper to defer the law's implementation until the country has weathered the pandemic, adds concerned agencies have yet to conduct the mandated education, information campaign

DTI-BPS Director: Sana po matignan 'yung need ng BPS testing lab for testing equipment ng child restraint system. Initial estimate namin, we need around P130M to set up a testing facility for CRS. Sana po matulungan kami

Sen. Pimentel on new vehicle inspection program: We justify a program because it's good, we're ready to implement it, it's needed by society, it's reasonably priced, mga ganon. Wag 'yung sasabihin natin na dahil mas mura lang [inspection fees compared to other countries]

Sen. Drilon: I think at least prima facie, on a preliminary basis [DOTr] Usec. Yebra will agree there's reason to review both on the policy and legal standpoint (1/2)

Sen. Drilon: I don't think it will harm the public or gov't if we can suspend in the meantime this regulation based not on any law, but on the DOTr's memorandum circular (2/2)

Sen. Pimentel: When you launch a nationwide program, be ready that the burden in one place should be the same in another because that is what the Constitution mandates.

NACTODAP President Ariel Lim: Kung ito nga pong PETC, di kami nakakapag-rehistro dahil wala pong ganito sa ibang lugar... sa Palawan lang, from Coron, pupunta ka pa Puerto Princesa para makapag-emission [test]. Tapos ngayon, babawasan pa nila, lalong di makakapag-rehistro

NACTODAP President calls to defer, further review the new vehicle inspection system: Wala po kaming tutol sa plano nilang ito, maganda ito pero dapat pag-usapan lang po

Motorcycle Rights Organization chairman Jobert Bolanos suggests parts of the law's IRR that are conflicting must be updated, listed so it will be clear to operators, the agency what rules to implement.

Sen. Poe recommends the new vehicle inspection program's implementation be suspended pending the fulfillment of the ff:

- conduct of thorough consultations with stakeholders
- operationalization of adequate no. of PMVICs

(1/2)

- review of guidelines, parameters to ensure PMVIS follows reasonable standards for developing countries
- transparency in selection process of PMVICs, accreditation of value-added services, machine and equipment providers

(2/2)

Sen. Poe to agency officials in the hearing: Gawin natin sanang gabay ang ginagawa natin dito sa gobyerno, para sa kabutihan ng nakararami. Pag di yun ang ginawa niyo, kahit gano kayo kagaling, di niyo madedepensahan ang isang bagay.