Photo by EPA

Manila, Philippines - Only a small percentage of Don Mariano Transit Corp.’s fleet of buses inspected so far passed the roadworthiness check being conducted by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
“We have inspected 47 buses so far and only 10 of these passed the roadworthiness checks,” said Joel Donato, chief of the LTO Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS) center.
All of Don Mariano’s 78 authorized bus units will be inspected, he said.

Donato said defects found in the majority of the inspected buses include broken or malfunctioning lighting system, worn out tires, unsightly or cracked windshield, and missing bolts and nuts. “Those buses that failed the inspection will be re-inspected until defects are corrected. Inspection will persist until compliance is met,” he said.
Donato said the MVIS center has until the January 7 case hearing to complete the inspection of the entire fleet.  The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) placed the entire fleet of Don Mariano Transit Corp. under a 30-day preventive suspension status after one of its buses fell from the elevated Skyway in Taguig City.
At least 18 passengers were killed during the fatal accident while 16 others were injured. Following the preventive suspension, the operator was also ordered to surrender the company’s fleet to the LTO for roadworthiness checks and the drivers for drug-testing and road safety seminar.
The bus company was also ordered to extend financial assistance to the families of the fatalities and to the injured parties, aside from the benefits due them under the personal accident insurance coverage.
Earlier, LTFRB Chairman Winston Ginez said that Don Mariano Transit Corp. risks losing one of its seven franchises, noting that the Skyway accident was the third offense recorded by the franchise.
“Revocation is just a possibility. But the final decision of the LTFRB will still depend on the operator’s defense,” Ginez said.
Ginez said that he is seeking the help of members of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) to conduct a special audit of PUV companies to determine if they are complying with government labor standards after it was discovered that Don Mariano Transit had an expired labor compliance certificate.
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1 comment:

  1. The biggest responsibility for the road worthiness of any motor vehicle falls on the LTO and LTFRB respectively. If a motor vehicle is being registered YEARLY, why do we still have dilapidated Buses, Jeepneys, Trucks and other forms and types of motor vehicle plying the streets and roads. One of the reason, and I say One (1), is the NO SHOW system. Just bring a Smoke emission test result, a registration form with the engine number taped on the form and the most important thing, somebody you know from the inside. VIOLA! your motor vehicle is already registered. In the LTFRB, it would be the same.

    In the middle east, there is what they call an MVPI (Motor Vehicle Periodical Inspection). Motor vehicles cannot be registered without going thru a thorough PHYSICAL inspection of the vehicle. Once you enter the Inspection Compound, you will hand over the keys of the vehicle to a technical person and you will be directed to go to the registration office and wait for the result. It is prohibited to talk to any employees. If your vehicle passes, then it will be registered, if not, a list of deficiencies and faults should be rectified or cleared before re-registering.

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