NLEX at 7am on December 8, 2020. Screengrab from NLEX Facebook.
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has formally called for a Senate review on the compliance of toll operators with their concession agreements, saying motorists suffered losses due to heavy traffic amid the shift into a cashless toll collection system.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 587, Gatchalian underscored the need to review the concession agreements of existing tollway operators to ensure that they conform to the “minimum standard specifications for operations and maintenance under toll operations certificate or agreement.”
“Thousands of motorists have been suffering from the horrendous traffic that has been going on for a week now and which could have been prevented had they exercised prudence before setting a deadline on the implementation of the RFID system,” he said.
“What’s more glaring than the admission of the fact that the system is not equipped enough to carry out the cashless payment scheme? Does that not constitute gross negligence on the part of the toll operator?” he added.
In his resolution, Gatchalian also sought for a review on the powers and functions of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
According to Gatchalian, the TRB was created to grant authority to operate a toll facility and issue the necessary toll operation certificate as well as the power to amend, modify or revoke the same whenever public interest so requires.
Earlier, the senator said the chief of the TRB should step down and let somebody else handle the problems caused by the implementation of the radio frequency identification (RFID) system.
“These malfunctioning RFID sensors and installation of RFID stickers exacerbated the already dismal traffic situation in the tollways and nearby roads since the start of the shift to a purely cashless toll collection system,” Gatchalian said.
On Monday afternoon, the senator’s brother, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, suspended the business permit of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corp. after it failed to address the heavy traffic that its cashless toll collection has been causing in the locality.
The suspension order means that “motorists can still pass through the NLEX system but toll fees will no longer be collected,” the Valenzuela City government said in a Twitter post.