NewsRecord Weekly Publication

Emission test center probes technicians

Investigation rolls at the San Carlos Emission Testing Center.

After the publication of the NewsRecord August 19 to 25, 2012 issue, Annette Antonio, owner of San Carlos Emission Testing Center, ordered an investigation on the complaint of one of their clients who had to give P 400 for her vehicle to pass the smoke test.

Antonio told NRWP that Dennis Garcia, the technician identified by the source as the one who received the bribe, was immediately fired and on August 28, he stopped reporting for duty.

As for the other technicians whose names were not identified, the owner said that they are still investigating them and should they be found guilty, they'll be immediately fired, too.

In order to make sure there will no longer be fixing and bribing, the management has also imposed a new policy. They will no longer allow fixers to transact but "will only entertain vehicle owners and authorized drivers."

Antonio also said that she is advising all vehicle owners to "never give to fixers." The center's legitimate employees are in uniform, she added, and all transactions should only be done through them. There are two legitimate technicians, an encoder, and a cashier. She lamented that fixing and bribing is becoming rampant because there are also owners who prefer to transact with them thinking that it is less of a hassle.

Before testing, vehicles also need to be checked and fixed by qualified auto mechanics, she also advised.

But she denied that they had asked for fees for stencil and clarified that only the Land Transportation Office (LTO) requires such document and not the emission testing center.