Palace won’t meddle in RFID mess

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang will not dip its hands into the ongoing spat between North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corp. and the Valenzuela City government over issues on the firm’s cashless payment system.

According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the Palace will let the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) handle the issue.

“Hinahayaan po natin iyan sa TRB. Ang DILG (Department of Interior and Local government) naman po ay pumasok na rin sa eksena at hinikayat ang mga lokal na pamahalaan at operator ng expressway na ayusin na itong gusto na ito,” Roque said Monday in a televised Palace press briefing.

(We leave that to the TRB. The DILG has already entered the fray and urged local governments and expressway operators to fix this issue.)

Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian has ordered the suspension of the business permit of NLEX Corp. after severe traffic buildup allegedly due to the faulty implementation of the toll regulator’s Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) payment system. The order prevented NLEX from collecting toll from motorists.

READ: Gatchalian halts NLEX Corp. operation in Valenzuela City amid ‘RFID mess’

Roque previously said occurrences like this may turn off future investors although he noted that local governments are entitled to issue or suspend business permits within their jurisdictions.

The government has ordered toll operators to automate their payment system to limit human contact and the spread of COVID-19.