Emission test centers back PMA on drive to improve air quality

MANILA, Philippines - The Private Emission Testing Center Operators Association (PETCOA) yesterday expressed its support for the campaign of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) to eliminate corruption in the motor vehicle emission testing industry in a bid to improve the air quality in the country.

In a statement released by PMA, PETCOA president Tony Halili said they decided to forge an alliance with the doctors’ group as they also want to improve the quality of air in the country.

“We totally support this crucial partnership with the PMA. Because of this alliance, PETCOA deemed it necessary to implement immediately several drastic measures to complement government’s role,” he said.

Halili said the government has not been “consistent in monitoring and imposing penalties against erring PETCs to the detriment of those who are righteously conducting emission tests under strict protocol.”

Last March, the PMA had organized a summit to combat air pollution in Metro Manila. The group blamed the rampant corruption at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) – which is tasked to test private vehicles for smoke emission – for the worsening quality of air in the metropolis, which has led to a rise in non-communicable diseases.

The PMA said rampant corruption at the LTO is to blame for the continued operation of smoke-belching vehicles on Metro Manila roads.

Under the Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act, accredited private emission testing centers are tasked to check the exhaust system of private vehicles. According to Halili, PETCOA intends to police its ranks to make sure that smoke-belching private vehicles are taken off the road.

For his part, PMA Gov. for Manila Dr. Leo Olarte maintained that PMA and PETCOA have “agreed to intensively cooperate with each other in our concerted effort to weed out the corrupt elements within their ranks as well as that of the government’s motor vehicle emission testing centers, initially in the National Capital Region and ultimately the entire nation.”