|
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Malig: 600% to 700% toll hike
By Jun A. Malig
EVEN some colleagues in the media were confused by the figures and percentages involved in the much higher toll rates to be imposed along the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) by the Lopez Group-controlled Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) by yearend. But if one has been reading news and column articles about the impending toll rate increases since January this year, he would not be perplexed by the different calculated percentages coming from diverse sources.
For the record, MNTC officials have been talking about the toll rate increases since the start of this year when the prevailing toll along the Nlex was still 33 centavos per kilometer. Last July 15, the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC), which is set to turn over to the MNTC the management and operation of the expressway barely three months from now, raised the 33 centavos toll rate to 52 centavos per kilometer.
>From the start of the year, news reports of national daily newspapers, radio and television and many column articles have been citing the 600 to 700 percent toll increase based on the original 33 centavos per kilometer rate. But early last month MNTC president Jose "Ping" De Jesus tried to "correct" the percentage, saying that the impending toll rate increase would be only about 500 percent. The discrepancy lies in the different reference points. While news and column articles refer to the 33 centavos per kilometer rate, De Jesus refers to the adjusted rate of 52 centavos per kilometer.
Now, which reference point should be used in computing the percentage involved in the toll rate hike? Of course, it would be sensible to use the existing rate when the MNTC first announced its toll rate hike plan, which was 33 centavos per kilometer. Come January next year, Class 1 vehicles like cars, vans, pick-up trucks, AUVs, and SUVs would be charged P2.49 per kilometer along the NLEx. Owners and drivers of these vehicles would have to pay a one-way toll of about P200 from Mabalacat to Balintawak and about P50 from Dau to the City of San Fernando. Classes 2 and 3 vehicles like buses, trucks, and trailers would have to pay double and triple the rates.
The actual percentage of increase would be 750 percent (P2.49 divided by 33 centavos). But since some computations were based on from-one-toll-gate-to-another basis, many newsmen cited the toll increases to be between 600 to 700 percent. But whichever percentage is more accurate, paying P400 for a roundtrip Mabalacat to Balintawak or P100 roundtrip Dau to San Fernando travel would be too much burden for ordinary motorists who simply do not give a damn about the "more savings in the long run because of reduced vehicle operating costs", as claimed by MNTC officials.
Let me reiterate the point I raised in one of my previous columns that while the MNTC is obviously very proud to repeatedly cite the convenience of motorists in using the smooth asphalt surface of the "world-class" expressway, it should also take into consideration the public's convenience and ability to pay the much higher toll rates. If the Lopez-controlled joint venture corporation truly aims to serve the populace, it should not just limit its perspective in providing them with the convenience of using a smooth road but also the convenience of paying reasonable and affordable expressway fees. Yes, the rehabilitated Nlex may be "world-class" or comparable to the roads of some progressive Asian countries. But the MNTC should not forget the fact that the Taiwanese or Koreans, for instance, pay high road fees, their salaries are at least 1,000 percent higher than the salaries of Filipino motorists and commuters.
It's truly sad to hear officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications describe as "unavoidable" the impending exorbitant toll rate increase along the NLEx. Transportation Undersecretary Arturo Valdez earlier told newsmen that the government could not do anything to avert the MNTC's implementation of the expensive toll rates. He said the MNTC has a "special toll-operating agreement" with the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) that compels the latter to guarantee the former with the right to increase the fees it would collect from motorists along the expressway.
Sounds unbelievable? Indeed, but things like this do happen in the Philippines. Only in the Philippines, as the cliché goes, that a regulatory board like the TRB, whose existence and mandate is to regulate the imposition of toll rates by private firms and ensure that the public would not pay exorbitant tolls, could enter into a special agreement with a private entity like the MNTC. And the agreement guarantees that the MNTC could raise its toll rates by 600 to 700 percent.
Valdez's explanation that the special agreement was used by the MNTC in securing loans to fund the expansion and rehabilitation of the NLEx also sounds incredible. It was surprising to learn that the TRB's function is not just to regulate toll rates for the benefit of the public but also to act as some kind of a loan guarantor. I commend Pampanga fourth district Rep. Anna York Bondoc for her dedication and sensibility to initiate a congressional inquiry into the MNTC's impending toll rate increase, particularly the MNTC-TRB toll agreement. The lady solon is also definitely correct in saying that motorists should be consulted first before obligating them to pay much higher highway fees.
(October 12, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
