On August 10, 2018, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) issued Department Order 2018-19 authorizing the establishment of Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVICs) all over the country to be run and operated by private entities.
However, knowing that Republic Act 4136 (otherwise known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code) vests such inspection function or powers with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), I cannot see the rationale why the government relinquished its responsibility to enforce and collect fees relative to the Act in favor of private businesses.
Under the Traffic Code, it is the Commissioner of Land Transportation who shall be responsible for the administration of this Act. As such, the Commissioner or his deputies may at any time examine and inspect any motor vehicle to determine whether such motor vehicle is registered, or is unsightly, unsafe, overloaded, improperly marked or equipped, or otherwise unfit to be operated because of possible excessive damage to highways, bridges and/or culverts.
However, the Code does not expressly say that these responsibilities can be delegated and/or re-delegated to any other party. Thus, unless allowed by an enabling law, would DOTr’s issuance of Department Order 2018-19 not be legally questionable?
The legal jurisprudence of this issue is best seen in a similar incident involving the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bureau of Customs, when the latter allowed the former to undertake the encoding of Customs entries and to collect fees for their services as exposed during a Senate hearing, where then Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile questioned the legal basis of the agreement between PCCI and BOC.
According to Enrile, a government function delegated by law to a particular state agency, especially those that involve collection of fees, cannot be re-delegated to any other party, unless allowed by an enabling law. As a result of the Senate hearing, the BOC stopped its ASYCUDA project with PCCI.
The Clean Air Act for its part, where unlike the Traffic Code, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), as the Act’s principal implementor is allowed to collaborate and even deputize other government agencies like the DOTC, DTI and LGUs in the development of an action plan for the control and management of air pollution from motor vehicles consistent with the Integrated Air Quality Framework.
This makes me wonder why the haste in implementing the government’s MVIS program despite its legal issues, and most importantly, despite its having a measly number of accredited testing centers all over the country.
Like the government’s implementation of the Child Car Seat Law beginning February this year as earlier announced, its full enforcement during the pandemic could be awkward knowing that under the IATF Covid-19 safety protocol, children 14 years old and below are restricted from leaving home. Who would be using the child car seats then when children are not allowed to leave home?
It’s good that President Duterte is sensitive to issues and concerns affecting the social and economic well-being of Filipinos. He ordered the implementation of the Car Seat Law deferred, and made MVIS no longer mandatory.
Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza is the chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade; a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling.