SENATE minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday urged President Marcos to convince officials of the North Luzon Expressway Tollways Corporation (NLEX) to suspend the toll hike, which took effect last June 15.
“Sana makipag-usap ngayon with the NLEX Tollways Corporation kung kaya pa nila i-absorb ito, at saka ang problema ay hindi happy ang users sa expressway. So, sana pakitang gilas muna then saka na ‘yung reward mo kasi tataas ng toll fee ninyo (The President can talk to NLEX Tollways Corporation and ask if it can still absorb [the losses] because one of the problems is that expressway users are not happy. So, the President can persuade them as a gesture of concern to the people and ask the corporation to implement the toll hike some other time),” Pimentel told radio dzBB in an interview.
He said traders who ply the North Luzon expressway will likely charge the additional transportation cost to their consumers to offset the extra expense, which will then add to inflation.
“Ang toll fees, dumadaan ang goods natin diyan — gulay, meat supplies. So, definitely tataas ‘yun, eh hindi pa nga natin naso-solve ang inflation, mataas pa rin (The transport of goods like vegetables and meat supplies pass through the expressway. So, definitely, the prices of these goods will also go up, which will only add to the high inflation which the government has yet to solve),” he added.
Pimentel has earlier called on the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and NLEX Tollways Corporation to put on hold the toll fee increase, saying “implementing a toll increase at these challenging times would exacerbate (the peoples’) economic hardships.”
The TRB has approved the provisional toll fee hikes at NLEX, with Class 1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, vans, or pickups) paying an additional P7, Class 2 (busses, and light trucks) P17, and Class 3 (heavy and trailer trucks) P19 on the expressway’s “open system” which covers Balintawak, Mindanao Avenue, and Marilao in Bulacan.
For its closed system, Class 1 vehicles will pay an additional P26, Class 2 an extra P66, and Class 3 plus P11.
The NLEX said the new toll rates underwent regulatory reviews and were part of its periodic adjustments which were already due way back 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2020.
At least 280,000 vehicles pass through the NLEX daily.
Pimentel said traders will surely jack up the prices of their goods to recover for the additional expenses when they use the expressway.
“Wala pa nga ang pagtaas ng toll fee eh may inflation na na hindi ma explain kung saan nanggagaling, hindi ma solve. Paano mahihinto, dinagdagan mo pa ngayon ng isang halaga na tunay na increase (There was already inflation even before the latest round of toll fee increase. The government cannot explain the root cause of inflation and how to stop it. And here we are now adding to the people’s expenditures),” he said.
