Vehicle smoke testing has never been that systematic, comfortable, organized, professionalized, standardized, and made hi-tech until the VH Testing PMVIC Inc. came, there at Diit, Tacloban City, right across the old slaughterhouse going to San Juanico Bridge.
I don’t know exactly when it started its operation, perhaps before or during the pandemic, but it’s a new landmark in town. Easy to verify it if I decide to. I’ve been there twice, to have my vehicle smoke-tested, of course. And every time I get there, I somehow thank the heavens this company came over to offer its services to vehicle owners in Tacloban City and nearby places.
It’s a breakthrough smoke testing company, I would say. Again, I honestly have not done any research about it; I’m just relying on my observation, experience, and impressions. None of the previous smoke-testing shops that I’ve been to before ever comes close to it in many aspects. It’s a high-end cutting edge when it comes to smoke testing, dwarfing the old ones and making them Jurassic and barriotic in comparison.
Why, the old smoke testing centers in the city were mostly just huddled in a building beside the sidewalks, with no ample spaces. The vehicle owners had to wait under the scorching glare of the sunlight while breathing in the smoke of passing vehicles. By the time your turn comes, you were already perspiring profusely, with skin burns from the sun’s heat, coughing out fumes from your lungs.
From the comfort of an air-conditioned waiting area to the systematic and hi-tech screening of vehicle smoke, the company is indeed globally superb. It’s highly organized, the staff well-trained, and the area is a sprawling expanse of a gigantic building and a plain of parking lots for serviced vehicles.
But, exceptional though it is, this smoke testing also has downsides as far as customers are concerned, especially the have-nots. Being so advanced technologically, the testing machines and computers of the said company so are so sensitive they can easily detect chemical problems in the vehicle smoke. Any infirmity in the vehicle’s mechanisms related to the smoke production and release quickly registers, causing problematic insides to fail in the test. A failed smoke test, of course, means rejection from the LTO’s registration section.
Not only that; they also check very strictly the vehicle’s lighting system to see if they are all functional. Any defective bulb or connection has to be replaced or repaired, or else it will not pass the company’s standard and would not be accepted for testing. The meticulous scrutiny of the vehicle is good as it is also for the good of the driver and owner, but the absence of human consideration makes this company kind of robotic and too mechanical.
Should the customers find other options for smoke testing, they better go for these since we are not after perfection, anyway. We just want a basically functional vehicle. Besides, this company’s charges are also sky high, truly unaffordable for the lowly and poor vehicle owners.
DOE expands Philippine Energy labeling program
The energy consuming products (ECP) are now included in the Philippine Energy Labeling Program (PELP) according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
The ECP products used for cleaning and laundry, cooking, and food processing, cooling, heating and ventilating, grooming and personal care, information and communication equipment, and lighting are now covered in the PELP. Earlier, DOE included in the PELP house hold items like air conditioners, refrigerating appliances, television sets and lighting products. One notes that the national labeling of ECPs listed above was meant to promote the energy consumers welfare further.
Incumbent DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla was quoted saying that ”with conservation and efficient utilization energy among the major strategies of the government to realize energy self-sufficiency and reduce environmental impacts of energy generation and utilization, we are now expanding the coverage.”
Also, ECPs with or without a prescribed minimum energy performance products (MEPP) requirement are now required to bear the energy label that specifies the energy efficiency rating of the product model.
“According to the DOE, non-compliance, removal, defacing, or altering of the energy label will be subjected to fines, penalties, and criminal liability as provided under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act. Penalties include the imposition of fines, from P100,000 for the first offense toP1 million for the third offense.
MY COMMENT:
Strict implementation and monitoring by the DOE agents of the PELP measure on items classified as ECPs by the DOE is paramount to the success in promoting the energy consumers welfare. This is a well-thought of strategy of the Executive Branch to help conserve and efficiently use energy resources by the government.
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