PMVIC: modernization – deception – corruption?

The PMVIC or Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Center project of the DOTr has started to come under fire and its most vocal and visible critics are raising the question: Is it truly for land transportation modernization or is it a deceptive way of phasing out vehicles 15 years old or older, or is it another fast break scheme to hand out sure shot, locked-in and lucrative businesses to cronies or capitalists without having to go public or go through rigorous public bidding?

At face value we could say that the PMVIC project is a solution that hits two birds with one stone: the LTO gets to have well equipped, real motor vehicle inspection centers operated by private companies and the LTO becomes compliant with laws requiring the use of motor vehicle inspection centers. It is public knowledge that the LTO before the introduction of the PMVICs only had two operating but not fully equipped inspection centers while millions of pesos worth of equipment for the purpose rotted and rusted all over the Philippines even before they could be used many years ago.

But like many “well-intentioned” government projects, the PMVIC program lacked true transparency, just like the Sinovac vaccine purchase and it also lacked consultancy with stakeholders and partners even of the DOTr. It is simply presented as a case where government does not have money and we should be thankful that some people are willing to bankroll the centers. That unfortunately does not work with the motoring public or millions of vehicle owners that have to pay the final cost and profit of PMVIC investors again and again, every time they have to do annual vehicle registration.

At the moment, protesters on wheels are not even complaining of costs but rather the unreliability or the multiple point testing per vehicle (72 kinds of tests according to some) that has been described as tougher or more demanding than “casa” or car dealerships. The highly publicized cases involved the noise level of the exhaust on a Toyota Land Cruiser and the brakes on a BMW, both being high-end luxury vehicles. It turns out that the noise test was erroneous while the brake test was contested by the PMVIC as correct and that the BMW owner had his car fixed and re-tested and passed.

While the “victims” point to glitches, ordinary car owners are concerned that there is more to the PMVIC than testing. The multi-point tests also point to what some suspect as a deception towards phasing out older vehicles because the PMVIC tests standards are for First World transportation and economies while the Philippines is a Third World country where the majority of vehicles are 15 years or older.

LTO chief Edgar Galvante stated that the PMVIC will help those car owners because roadworthiness is based on the PMVIC tests instead of the general scrapping of cars 15 years or older. There lies the possible stab in the back: “If your vehicle passes the test” made for relatively new cars and not the halo-halo/resto-mod/non-original parts vehicles, serviced mano-mano that is common in the country.

I brought my restored 2000 Chevy Silverado to a tire shop for computerized wheel alignment and they couldn’t because it was old and not in the program! That’s a relatively new model by Philippine road standards. So what happens to vehicles with modifications such as standard SUVs that have been retrofitted for off-road use such as wider and bigger tires, or cars with modified exhaust systems that are ten times the price of OEM but does not meet PMVIC standards.

Yes, we need to have safe and reliable cars but standards are relative and anyone can tweak the tests, any tests for that matter, either to make them easy, normal or impossible to pass for older vehicles. I sincerely pray that those tests turn out to be standard tests because if it is another deception towards vehicle modernization, the LTO and the DOTr will surely lose many supporters and have more enemies than they had expected.

As for the possibility that the awarding of the PMVIC projects was a fast break move that lacked transparency, consultation and the usual bidding procedures, I think it would be safe to assume that things will start getting hot under the collar for DOTr officials now that the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption has joined the outcry. It is sad that good ideas, solutions and visions at the DOTr end up getting slammed not because of things illegal but because the DOTr habitually sends out short cut orders to its implementing agencies for implementation instead of doing a thorough dissemination, very public consultation as well as public information for every plan or program. Yes, it makes the work tedious at times but at least it prevents suspicions, outcries and accusations of corruption and deception.

When the DOTr rushed the implementation of the “cashless transaction at tollways” they got slammed and burned and Secretary Art Tugade had to issue a public apology. In order to avoid such fails and embarrassing situations, people in government and the DOTr should memorize by heart the lesson from the Book of Proverbs chapter 11:14: “Where there is no counsel, the people fail. But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

Know-it-alls often get into trouble but when people get to participate in something, they often take ownership, promote and defend the matter.

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