Bus operators seek deferment of Clean Air Act

Insisting that the government is not yet prepared to implement Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act, Metro bus operators will formally ask the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to temporarily shelve the program.

Cesar Apolinario, president of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association (IMBOA), said it was premature for the government to implement the law because it still lacks the expertise and the proper devices to do so.

"We strongly support the Clean Air Act but we hope the government will not implement this in haste. Otherwise, the objectives of coming up with this program will not be achieved. We are preparing a formal request for the deferment of its implementation," he noted.

But in an earlier interview, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) belied IMBOA’s accusations.

According to Daisy Jacobo, head of LTO-Traffic Safety Division, the agency was prepared to implement the law. "Actually, it has long been in effect. People have been trained to carry this out and we also have the equipment. It is a continuing activity for us."

The full implementation of the law started on Nov. 25 or 15 days after its implementing rules and regulations was published in newspapers of general circulation. The law is aimed at eliminating pollution in the country by the year 2003.

But IMBOA has been insisting that the people deputized by the LTO to conduct roadside inspections of vehicles were not properly trained.

It also alleged that there were not enough portable devices for use by enforcers and that the LTO Motor Vehicle Inspection Stations (MVIS) still lack the equipment to test vehicles for pollution.

Under the law, motor vehicles have to be tested in the MVIS before they can be registered with the LTO.

"The LTO is still in the process of accrediting private testing centers. Unless the DOTC has completed this, the implementation of this law has to be postponed," Apolinario insisted.