Amid suspicions that the motor vehicle inspection system (MVIS) is prone to corruption, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to stop requiring vehicles undergoing registration renewal to undergo testing from MVIS establishments, Malacañang said on Thursday.

“Hindi na po mandatory ang MVIS. Ibig sabihin, kinakailangan walang bagong singil, walang karagdagang singil para sa pagpaparehistro ng mga sasakyan. (The MVIS [motor vehicle inspection system] is no longer mandatory. This means that there will be no other fees to be paid when a motor vehicle registration is being renewed,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing.

“Ito ang naging desisyon ng Presidente kung saan binalanse ng Pangulo ang pinagdadaanan ng ating mga kababayan sa gitna ng krisis na nararanasan hindi lang ng Pilipinas kundi ang buong mundo (This is the decision of the President where he balances what our countrymen has been experiencing in the midst of this current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic not only here in the Philippines, but all over the world),” he added in Filipino.

Prior to the decision of Duterte to ditch motor vehicle inspection as mandatory in renewing vehicle registration, a number of Senators have grown suspicious of the decision of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to privatize its vehicle inspection program, as this could be prone to corruption.

The LTO is an agency under DOTr.

Also, there are alleged instances of faked test certificates or motor vehicles not getting inspected at all, which may explains why there are still accidents caused by vehicles from brake failures, among others.

Senator Grace Poe, who had led a hearing into the implementation of the MVIS issue, cited figures from another senator that the 23 private motor vehicle inspection centers currently operating could earn up to P8 billion annually.