“When you look at it carefully, there is an environmental issue at its core. We can’t continue the old normal with Private Emission Testing Centers (PETCs), the blatant shortcomings of which has led to continued air pollution from smoke-belching vehicles even during the coronavirus disease pandemic,” paliwanag ni AGHAM President Angelo Palmones.
Importante aniya ang Republc Act No.8749 o Clean Air Act sa pagpapanatiling ligtas ang hanging nilalanghap ng mga Filipino.
Makakamit aniya ito kung susuportahan ng mga motorista ang mas modernisado at scientifically-inclined na PMVIC.
Suportado naman ng Laban Konsyumer Inc., sa pamumuno ni Atty. Vic Dimagiba, ang pananaw ni Palmones ukol sa PMVICs.
“Laban Konsyumer Inc. supports the advocacy of AGHAM for the transport agencies to implement now the PMVIC, which has been a much-delayed project for the past three to four administrations,” ani Dimagiba.
Saad pa nito, “Millions in foreign aid as well as local appropriations has been spent and this is a project that complies with the specific mandate of the Clean Air Act.”
Sinabi ni Dimagiba na maari pa ring makapag-operate ang mga PETC sa mga lugar na wala pang PMVIC.
Kung magbabatay lang sa PETCs at Land Transportation Office (LTO) District Office visual inspectors para malaman ang roadworthiness ng sasakyan at emission compliance, iginiit ni Palmones na patuloy lamang lalala ang sitwasyon sa mga lansangan kaya’t kinakailangan itong mabago.
“The status quo of non-appearance/no-show practiced by fixers in collusion with PETCs, insurance companies, and the LTO District Offices themselves, has been so institutionalized that the very mentality of Filipinos is no longer that of safety, but one of misplaced ‘convenience’, unspeakable corruption, and worst of all, complete disregard of Filipino lives,” ani Palmones.
Samantala, kailangan aniyang ipunto sa mga motorista ng DOTr at Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), sa pamamagitan ng Ciimate Change Commission, na kailangang ikonsidera ang kapaligiran.
“PETCs and the culture of non-appearance that they’ve perpetrated in renewals of vehicle registration have failed to arrest the worsening problem on green house gas (GHG) emissions,” ayon pa kay Palmones.
Pagdidiin pa nito, ang transportation sector ang pinakamalaking pinagmumulan ng air pollution sa bansa.