DOTr asked to again delay start of new RFID guidelines

ON HOLD The Aug. 31 implementation of the “No RFID, No Entry” rule, as stated in this sign at the España ramp of the NLEx connector in Manila, has been postponed following objections from motorists. Photo taken on Aug. 26. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — Some 30 House lawmakers have called on the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to further delay implementating fully cashless toll collections until all the bugs in its electronic toll collection (ETC) system have been fixed.

Led by House committee on transportation chair Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, the legislators filed House Resolution No. 2010 which said that Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) 2024-001 “punishes motorists for possible violations beyond their control” when the DOTr has not addressed concerns over the ETC system.

They urged the DOTr to further defer implementing its memorandum and asked Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista to unburden motorists and commuters and penalize tollway concessionaires instead.

The DoTr earlier moved the implementation of the ETC system from Aug. 31 to Oct. 1 with Bautista advising concerned agencies and tollway operators to fine-tune expressway operations during the 30-day deferment.

READ: Revised toll expressway guidelines implementation suspended to Oct 1

Under JMC 2024-001, motorists entering a tollway without RFID tags or ETC devices would be fined P1,000 for a first offense; P2,000 for a second violation; and P5,000 for subsequent offenses.

Even leaving the expressway with an insufficient load balance would be punishable by a P500 fine; P1,000 for a second offense; and P2,500 for succeeding violations.

The lawmakers noted that the DOTr on Aug. 13, 2020, ordered the Toll Regulatory Board, Land Transportation Office, and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to hasten the implementation of the contactless transactions program.

Flawed implementation

However, they observed that the initial implementation was “marred with several issues, such as the availability of RFID tags, readability of RFID tags, unauthorized charges and real-time account balances, among others.”

The DOTr tacitly admitted these issues when it suspended some provisions of its order on mandatory cashless payments.

Four years after the order, legislators noted that transportation agencies and tollway operators continue to hold “dry runs” and “systems assessments and audits,” but still fail to meet minimum performance standards.

“While the joint circular punishes motorists for possible violations beyond their control, not one tollway concessionaire or operator has been penalized since the initial implementation of the Contactless Toll Collection Program despite apparent delay or noncompliance with the minimum performance standards and specifications over a considerable period of time,” the lawmakers said.