Road safety deteriorating; MVIS not working

For quite a number of decades now, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has been trying to operationalize a motor vehicle inspection system (MVIS) in line with the government’s policy to ensure the road-worthiness of all vehicles that are given licenses to operate.

Even as early of 1986, the LTO had issued a memorandum order calling for a mandatory inspection of all motor vehicles: “No Motor Vehicle of all classification shall be accepted for the registration unless fully inspected in the accordance with the standards and procedure of Motor Vehicle inspection.”

Three venues of inspection had been designated: the LTO District Office, Motor Vehicle Inspection Stations (MVIS), and Private Emission Testing Centers (PETC).

Over the years, though, the LTO has struggled to come up with a fool-proof system that will ensure that all motor vehicles on the road are safe; and in recent times, in keeping with the times and new laws, the need for motor vehicles to be environmentally compliant.

Apparent failure

The LTO’s failure in ensuring safety and environmental compliance is apparent in the face of all those old, smoke-spewing vehicles that still ply our roads. Worse, major road accidents involving public utility vehicles that have killed or maimed scores of passengers continue to happen.

Even those vehicle emission testing centers run by private partners have really not been as effective, unlike the law that was created to improve fuel quality in bringing down harmful levels of volatile organic carbons that by motor vehicles emit.

The LTO is now trying to come up with motor vehicle inspection centers (MVIC) that will be run by private sector partners after its own MVICs failed miserably. Of the nine original MVICs built by LTO, only one is supposedly operating now, and even partially.

The new MVICs that the LTO wants private partners to build will call for digital inspections on 72 points in vehicles. For light vehicles, these include testers for headlights, roller/plate brakes, sideslip, speedometer, suspension, axle play, and sound levels.

That sounds a lot, and not surprisingly, will come with a hefty fee to vehicle owners. Already, this plan has the makings of something that’s bound to backfire. Clearly, a better plan is needed to solve the LTO’s problem. Let’s hear from our readers.

Readers on education quality

We now give way to two of our readers who reacted to our call for a solid program that would guide the country’s educational system in strengthening our youngsters’ basic educations. Let’s hear them out.

Anthony Navarro, who introduces himself as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), writes: “I do agree on your topic on basic education. I studied from primary to college (levels) in public schools provided by the Philippine government. I even remember (representatives of) PLM (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila) and PUP (Polytechnic University of the Philippines) used to visit Manila High School (Intramuros) to encourage us to study in their universities.

“We all cannot deny that the quality of education in public school is deteriorating. When I was still in high school, I saluted all the public schools in our country. But now, sorry to say …

“Just go to Ramon Magsaysay High School in España. Watch and listen how the students interact and talk with each other. It’s a bit dismaying. Listen also to their flag ceremony. How can you encourage students to speak in English if the teacher or facilitator doesn’t even speak in English?

“Go to the Benavidez Building in UST (University of Sto. Tomas). Watch and listen how the high school students behave and talk to each other. You will easily notice that they speak in English. Why? Because UST implemented it 100 percent. I cannot even speak in Pilipino when I visit the Principal’s Office.

“Bilang magulang, ano nga ba ang ating hinahangad para sa ating mga anak? Hindi ba’t kalidad na edukasyon para magamit nila sa pagharap sa mga darating sa hamon sa buhay? (As parents, what do we dream for our children? Don’t we all want quality education that they can use when facing life’s challenges?)

“Nalulungkot ako, naiinis at tinatanong ko din ang sarili ko, bakit sa laki ng pondo ng DECS ((Department of Education, Culture and Sports) or CHED (Commission on Higher Education), hindi pa rin mabago ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa public schools? (This is sad and irritating, and I ask myself why DECS or CHED have not been able to improve on the quality of education in public schools despite the big budget allocation?)

“Naiisip ko din sa laki kasi ng populasyon sa bawa’t section na hawak ng mga dakilang guro, hindi nila matutukan ang bawat estudyante. (I sometimes think that this is because our teachers are not able to closely supervise their pupils’ education because of the population size of each classroom.)

“We even have Sec. Briones to shake and re-mold public education. Even I 100 percent agreed on the K-12 curriculum. I hope and pray that one day, public schools will rise again from the grave.”

Rene Moral, a reader who has contributed his thoughts on a variety of topics in the past, comments: “A teacher can only teach what he/she knows. The low percentage score is a reflection of the poor or inadequate training our teachers get.

“DepEd (Department of Education) must provide incentives to interest teachers to upgrade their skills. A review and upgrade of salaries, employment, as well as retirement benefits will be a good start.

“We cannot afford to lose qualified teachers who prefer to work as domestic helpers in other countries.”

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Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.