4,407 Makati belchers nabbed

A total of 4,407 smoke-belching vehicles were apprehended in Makati City’s major thoroughfares from January to July this year, the Makati Pollution and Control Office (MPCO) reported yesterday.

Topping the list of air polluters are delivery vans and other utility transportation with 2,000 of these vehicles caught, followed by trucks with 1,475, said MPCO chief Reggie Suarez.

Suarez said jeepneys came in next with 359 apprehended; cars, 345; buses, 166; and taxis, 62.

The MCPO’s campaign against smoke belchers intensified based on the directive of Mayor Jejomar Binay to clear all the city’s streets of them, Suarez said.

"Clean air is a major concern of the Makati City government. That’s why we have intensified our anti-smoke belching campaign to make sure that all the streets of Makati are free of smoke belchers," he said.

Suarez said all apprehended vehicles were subjected to a smoke-meter test to determine the level of smoke emission based on standards set by the Department of Environment and Natural resources.

First-time offenders were fined P1,000 and their car plates and/or driver’s license confiscated. Second-time and third-time offenders were fined P2,000 and P3,000, respectively. The vehicle registration of third-time offenders were also suspended.

MPCO enforcers are deployed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily in streets and main avenues of the city such as J.P. Rizal Street, Kalayaan Avenue, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, the stretch of Ayala Avenue and along portions of EDSA intersecting with Gil Puyat Avenue and Magallanes. — Rhodina Villanueva