The Land Transportation Office (LTO) 12 (Soccsksargen) is seeking the reopening of at least 36 motor vehicle private emission testing centers (PETC) in the region that had been ordered closed by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for alleged violations.

Macario Gonzaga, LTO-12 director, said Tuesday they have filed an appeal to the DOTr central office to allow the affected PETCs to resume their operations temporarily, subject to conditions.

Gonzaga said the move aims to address the lack of PETCs in some areas of Soccsksargen that has affected the registration of motor vehicles.

He said they have received numerous complaints from vehicle owners, who were forced to travel to other areas for the emission testing services.

“The closure was a decision of the DOTr and it has the power to do that but we already submitted our appeal,” Gonzaga told reporters.

As a possible solution, he said they were considering the waiving of emission testing requirement for vehicles with valid or updated registration.

Gonzaga, however, said they were hoping for a favorable response from the DOTr regarding their appeal.

The 36 PETCs ordered closed last year by the DOTr were about half of the registered centers in the region, LTO-12 records showed.

The closure was due to various violations uncovered by DOTr inspectors, among them the issuance of fake emission test results.

Gonzaga said they have been closely monitoring the operations and compliance with standard regulations of the testing centers in the region.

He noted the importance of issuing proper emission test results for motor vehicles in line with government efforts to help maintain the air quality of the environment. (PNA)