ILOILO CITY, Dec. 10 (PNA) — The provincial government here installed a global positioning system (GPS) in each of its 25 dump trucks and five service vehicles to prevent the occurrence of fuel pilferage.
Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. ordered to place GPS in provincial government-owned vehicles to effectively monitor their operation and to hold erring employees liable for any misuse.
“There will be repercussions on the part of the driver or any employee for that matter if proven guilty. They can be sanctioned, suspended or kicked out of service,” Defensor stressed in a press conference on Thursday.
Costing P24,000 each, the Provincial Engineer’s Office headed by Engr. Gracianito Lucero bought the satellite GPS tracking system from Digitel Mobile Philippines through a negotiated procurement.
PEO manages about a hundred vehicles, some of which are heavy equipment mostly used for road and building construction and maintenance.
“We are the first in the country to have GPS in our dump trucks and service vehicles,” Lucero said.
With the use of GPS, Provincial Administrator Raul Banias said the provincial government developed a capacity to track down the route, speed and mileage of the vehicles.
“The device can generate a detailed trip report and using the exact distance they traveled, we can audit the driver’s fuel consumption,” said Banias, the proponent of the project.
Citing the experience of his son-in-law in America, Banias said the use of the new technology can bring more savings to the province.
Banias’ son-in-law, who owns an ice plant, claimed to save 30 percent of his typical fuel consumption following the installation of tracking device in his 40 delivery trucks.
The savings were achieved since the use of GPS discouraged drives to have unauthorized side trips. (PNA)