Former PamCham president Rene Romero
ANGELES CITY – A Pampanga business leader is seeking an investigation on the integrity of private motor vehicle inspections centers (PMVIC) after his vehicle failed the roadworthiness test.
Rene Romero, former president of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PamCham) and a known car enthusiast, cited alleged questionable testing procedures and overcharging by PMVIC in his call for a probe.
Also a member of several car clubs in the country, Romero said his driver brought his 2011 BMW Z4 sports car car to the QWIK Motor Vehicle Inspection Center here last January 11 as part of its registration process with the Land Transportation Office.
Romero said his Z4 is “casa-maintained and well-preserved” after logging some 7,000km. He added that while mounting a new set of tires, he also checked the Z4’s under chassis to make sure that it is in good condition.
After paying the P1,800 for the PMVIC testing fee, his driver was handed Number 85 for his turn at the facility at around 9 in the morning. He said it took three hours before the technicians started the roadworthiness inspection on the Z4.
Romero said he was surprised when his driver informed him that his car failed the testing procedure.
Disappointed, he said he immediately took his car to the BMW dealership in the City of San Fernando to check on the brake system. But after a thorough inspection, the BMW mechanics did not find anything wrong. Romero said he kept a copy of the inspection result from the BMW dealership.
He was able to return to QWIK PMVIC on January 15 to repeat the inspection process, which cost him another P800. This time, he said, it was the manager who drove the Z4 to the inspection bay. The vehicle got a passing mark.
Romero said he tried talking to the management of QWIK about the inconsistency in the testing process, but to no avail. When he started posting about his experience on social media, similar stories from other motorists started to pour in.
Romero clarified that he respects the government’s policy to rid the streets of unsafe vehicles by checking for roadworthiness. But he said an investigation should be conducted on PMVIC since a number of motorists are also complaining.
“Kawawa naman ‘yun ibang motorista na isang kahig, isang tuka. Mawawala parang bula ang kanilang pera dahil lang sa palpak sa sistema,” says Romero. “Nagdusa na nga sa haba ng pila sa testing center, tapos babagsak pa sa evaluation na hindi nila maipaliwanag kung bakit ganun ang nangyari. Dapat na maituwid natin ito.”
