By The Star Staff
San Juan District 3 Rep. José “Cheito” Hernández Concepción urged the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP by its acronym in Spanish) Thursday to extend the validity of auto inspection stickers, known locally as “marbetes,” for 30 days to help ease the technical crisis in which the private operator of the Autoexpreso system, Professional Account Management (PAM), finds itself.
The New Progressive Party legislator also urged the DTOP Secretary Eileen Vélez Vega to issue a memo giving drivers 60 days to renew their license plates without the need to pay. The move would allow time for the systems to recalibrate and ease the chaos currently being experienced in the Autoexpreso centers throughout the island, Hernández Concepción said.
“This is an issue that we have been working on for many months,” the lawmaker said. “Still, simply the incompetence of the private operator has caused this chaos. Our citizens should not be held hostage to PAM’s problems, so the best situation is to extend, today, a one-month moratorium on the payment of marbetes.”
“Given this crisis, a driver cannot be denied his permit and his license plate due to Autoexpreso fines,” Hernández Concepción added.
The legislator urged DTOP officials to take immediate action and approve the proposed moratorium, which he pointed out has been done before in times of emergency such as hurricanes, pandemics and earthquakes. Meanwhile, he said, the agency supervising the Autoexpreso system must jointly issue a memo giving 60 days to any person with a fine to purchase their auto license plate without paying for it until the system is recalibrated.
Later in the day, Vélez Vega announced that she had signed two resolutions so that citizens can renew their marbetes without having to present evidence of payment reconciliation in the AutoExpreso system, starting Monday, Aug. 12 until Sept 30.
Likewise, the official said, the period for renewing license plates that expired on July 31 was extended by resolution until Aug. 31 to support vehicle owners who were prevented from completing their process.
Hernández Concepción is also the author of House Joint Resolution 627, which orders the establishment of the necessary mechanisms and regulations to allow the interconnection of the computerized systems of vehicle inspection centers, collection shops, and driver service centers so that drivers can pay the tolls they owe when renewing their vehicle registration in those establishments and systems.
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