Per Republic Act No. 8749 otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Air Act, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is mandated to develop and implement standards and procedures on the licensing of qualified private service centers and their technicians as prerequisite for performing the testing, servicing, repair and the required adjustment to the vehicle emission system.

Due to the health and safety concerns due to the widespread of Novel Corona Virus Disease of 2019 since March 17, 2020, DTI issued a memorandum to halt the physical or onsite assessment for the Private Emission Testing Centers (PETCs) applying for the renewal of their accreditation. Instead, DTI conducted desktop documentary assessment of applications for PETC accreditation and issued Temporary Certificates to those who have satisfactorily complied with the Department Administrative Order 3, series of 2002 (DAO 3:2002) requirements.

As a result, about 40 applications were processed without having an onsite assessment since the start of pandemic. To cope up with the backlogs on physical inspection and to comply with the physical inspection requirements stated in the DAO 03:2002, DTI-Laguna, together with DTI-IVA conducted onsite assessment of PETCs in the cities of Cabuyao and Calamba on August 22, 2022. This was performed to check compliance of the PETCs against submitted documentation, including competency, infrastructure and work environment. ♦

Date of Release: 9 September 2022