Vehicle smoketest body told: Bare ops

By JhoArranz and Lady Godiva Alvaro

BAGUIO CITY  -  The city government is mulling the creation of a task force to address inconsistencies on smoke emission machine readings of both the accredited Private Emission Testing Centers (PETS) and the city’s Roadside Inspection Testing and Monitoring Team (RITMT), after this created confusion and complaints from motorists.

The task force would help assess the city’s clean air act ordinance including the RITMT.

The composition of the task force would come from concerned agencies said councilor Peter Fianza during a meeting with city officials.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan said there was no problem with the city’s RITMT system since the vehicle emission testing standards being used were in accordance with the Clean Air Act Ordinance and that the machines were in good condition.   

But he said there was need to check testing of the PETS and the RITMT. 

Domogan said testing machines should be regularly monitored by the Department of Transportation and Communication Cordillera, Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Environmental Management Bureau and Department of Trade and Industry.

He urged the Roadside Inspection and Monitoring Team to discuss in detail its operation to the public to keep away controversies, speculation and politicization of issues about air quality, since it is election campaign time.

He said apprehensions of vehicles which didn’t pass emission tests were solely for the purpose of protecting health of people by battling deterioration of the air quality, and not to collect funds.

This, as an “ambient air quality monitoring report” here identified parts of the central business district as having unhealthy air quality.

In an Alay SaKalinisan meeting, Anti-Smoke Belching representative, engineer Moises Lozano, said the standard air quality reading is 150 micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter.

More than that, it is no longer healthy, he added.

The dirtiest air quality reading was located within the Baguio City Police Office compound, in the intersection of Kayang and Abanao Streets, ranging from 155µg/m³ to 254µg/m³.

Also, air quality reading for the road between BCPO and Baguio City Fire Department was alarming since it did not go down to less than 250µg/m³.

BCPO officers said the road there was steep, hence due to the terrain, smoke belching in that area was out of control.

Lozano proposed to reroute some of the vehicles passing by that area. BCPO agreed to the proposal, and they are looking forward to plan the re-routing scheme to be done within the said area.

          

Malcom Square also got a high volume of pollutants in the air with 163µg/m³, since plenty of vehicles pass by that place.

          

Lozano added that people most specially the ones with respiratory illnesses such as asthma should limit  outdoor exertion in mentioned places.

People with heart diseases and diabetes must likely avoid the area to stay away from more risk of complications and worst, death, he 

Healthy people are warned too, since plenty of illnesses such as pneumonia develop if frequently exposed to untidy air.

        

Meanwhile, the air quality reading in Igorot Garden reached 108µg/m³, which was okay like in Abad Santos Drive and Lake Drive in Burnham Park which had  104µg/m³, so that jogging and strolling was still safe to do there.

                

According to data presented by the Roadside Inspection and Monitoring Team there were a total of 243 out of 405 flagged down diesels and LPG fed vehicles that failed the smoke belching test conducted from March 14 to April 10.

                

Smoke belching is one of the main contributors of air-pollution in the city, since exhaust of vehicles produce carbon monoxide, which is very harmful to the human body.

                

For the mentioned period of time, the subtotal of amount generated in apprehensions was P415,000, while the grand total was  P337,650.

Both generated and collected amounts were inclusive of polluter’s fee, ranging from P1,000.00 to P3,000.

                

Anti-Smoke Belching representative engineer  Sofronio Pascual said  once maximum number of four offenses for the smoke-belching vehicles is reached, the City ordinance says lawmen have the power to impound the vehicle.

However, since the city has no place to impound  vehicles, offenders are just asked to pay for polluter’s fee without assurance they will not repeat the same offense..