The Public Estates Authority Tollways Corporation (PEATC) should be in control of the management and collections of fess of the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex).
This was stressed by PEATC spokesman Atty. Ariel Inton amid the row between the government agency (PEATC) and the Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation (CIC).
Inton said that based on a Commission on Audit annual report way back 2018, state auditors have questioned why PEATC’s Cavitex is virtually under control of Metro Pacific-SALIM, and how come PEATC “lacks separate transaction record from Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation for their operations and maintenance contract of meter (Cavitex).”
He said COA added that “prior to the signing of its joint venture with CIC (Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation) in 2016, PEATC had its own record of revenues and expenses. But since its revenue sharing partnership, PEATC only gets daily remittances on the toll collection, while it has no record of the disbursement.”
“And what is the COA’s view (on this?) Simple. PEATC should operate MCTEP (Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project). It is our view that the PEATC has no other resource but to be able to operate according to its mandate and maintain its own accounting records of the total income and expenses of the MCTEP and reports its financial performance,” Inton said.
He said it is clear that PEATC has the mandate in the management of the toll ways and collection of toll fees.
Metro Pacific and CIC contested that the government has not fully paid its investments on the tollways, which Inton countered, saying they should have been already paid since their contract started in 2006.
“Metro Pacific and CIC included their expenditures in the other phases of Cavitex which was not in the original joint venture agreement of the Philippines and Malaysian companies. What was involved in the joint venture agreement is only the first phase of the project,” Inton said.
Inton said PEATC also does not agree with the proposal to buy PEATC out for P2.5 billion.
“For what? To cover up the red flag of COA auditors and bury the alleged irregularities?” he added.
He said that from 1998 to 2023, the government earned P2.582 billion, based on its 10 percent share, while CIC earned P28.504 billion from its 90 percent share during the same period.
“The question is, how much did Metro Pacific buy its stakes in the project which was originally a joint venture with the government? P6.7 billion. Haven’t they earned enough ?” he said.
Inton said that CIC will not be left out as it will get a 60-40 sharing once the PEATC takes full control of the management and collection of fees from the tollways which he said collects around P3 billion a year.
