Senator Grace Poe has warned against the implementation of a new Land Transportation Office charge P1,800 as motor vehicle inspection fee, saying this did not undergo thorough public consultation.
“The LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board] should go slow, if not shelve this plan because it will be carried out without listening to the views of the affected motorists and other sectors,” she said.
“Before it imposes new fees, the LTO should first heed the basic traffic rule: Stop. Look. Listen. Puro pasakit na lang sa taumbayan,” Poe said.
Under LTO Memorandum Circular (MC) 2018-2158 dated Nov. 28, 2018, motorists will have to pay P1,800 for the inspection of vehicles weighing 4,500 kilograms at a private inspection center as a requisite for registration.
Meanwhile, motorcycle and tricycle owners will have to shell out P600 for the inspection fee. A re-inspection fee of P900 will be charged if the 4,500-kg. vehicle fails the inspection phase.
In January this year, Poe filed Senate Resolution 1003 to look into the said exorbitant fees. She said she hopes the Senate would see the wisdom of recommending against its implementation “so as not to double the fees and charges to be paid by motor vehicle owners.”
According to Poe, thorough and wide-ranging consultations should be conducted involving all concerned stakeholders to discuss this.
“Over the past years, the list of LTO-imposed new charges or regulations is growing—from car plates to emailed medical certificates, and then this inspection fee,” Poe lamented.
The senator said the P1,800 fee is not a paltry amount and will have a dent on the budget of motorists already reeling from high prices of fuel and other commodities.