The dialogue between the Valenzuela City government and NLEX Corporation, supposedly to address the RFID fiasco, has been postponed due to "veiled threats" of the company to bring the matter to the court, Mayor Rex Gatchalian said Wednesday.
Gatchalian said over TeleRadyo interview that the local government is postponing its talks with the company since the latter "is going to the court."
"Doon na lang kami mag-usap. We welcome them going to the court kasi alam naming legal ang ginawa ng lokal na pamahalaan (We will just talk before the court. We welcome them going to the court because we know that what the local government has done is legal)," the mayor said.
Gatchalian's sudden decision came after Metro Pacific Tollways chief communication officer Romulo Quimbo, in an earlier interview with DZRH, disclosed that they would seek the help of the national government agencies regarding the matter.
"So ang pananaw po namin...na yung proseso dapat ng national government ang masunod. So dinudulog din naman natin ito sa national government, na kinakailangan makita din naman po nila yung buong proseso na 'ito ba ay tamang gawin? (We believe that it should be the process of the national government that must be followed. So, we are seeking the help of the national government to look if the current process is the right thing to do),'" Quimbo said.
"Hopefully makita naman ni Mayor na tama po ang hakbangin natin, eh hindi na sana tayo tutuloy doon, para hindi naman po maging legal issue (We hope that Mayor Gatchalian would also see that what we're doing is right. We hope that this will not end up as a legal issue)," he added when asked if NLEX Corp. is planning to file before a court a petition for temporary restraining order against the Valenzuela City government, which has suspended since Monday, December 7, its business permit in the city.
In a series of tweets, Gatchalian hit the company for its plan, saying he is not sure if the action "is good faith."
"I'm not sure if this a veiled threat...but city hall doesn't do well being threatened. 1. We will welcome them filing a case in court. We know we stand on strong legal ground so we are ready to defend our actions. 2. I don't get this. You want to dialogue but you are saying may (there is a) potential court case...I'm not sure if that is good faith," Gatchalian said.
"Since when has it been a crime for city hall to do its job protecting its constituents???" he added.
Manila Bulletin has reached out to Quimbo for comment. He has yet to respond.
Next steps
Gatchalian, in the same TeleRadyo interview, said they will write again a letter to NLEX Corp. to set out "the conditions" that the company must meet before the city lifts its suspension.
"So, ang mga ilalagay natin doon, una, kailangan ma-address nila yung technology issue, 'yung nawawalang load. Pangalawa, yung censor na palyado. Pangatlo, gusto rin natin ma-address nila na moving forward, 'pag nangyari, ano ba yung mga measure, yung mga perfomance index natin (We will demand in the letter that they should address the technology issue and the defective RFID censor. We also want them to know the measures of their performance index, which they should then meet)," he said.
"Kasi kailangan sinusukat natin buwan buwan yung perfomance nila eh, hindi pwede yung pag-lift mo ng suspension, tapos na, kailangan may monitoring mechanism tayo (Because we need to measure their performance monthly. It should not end with the lifting suspension, we need to maintain a monitoring mechanism over them)," he added.
Quimbo, meanwhile, maintained that "there are more" efficient and operational RFID scanners than those that are not. He added that the company still meets the "standard" reading rate and that the "so-called defective RFID stickers" are just "one of the problems" that they are currently facing.
"Yung mga scanners po natin, umaabot po tayo ng 98 percent . Ibig sabihin po, higit na mas marami naman po yung nababasa at maayos yung pagdaloy ng mga motorista (Our scanners reach 98 percent reading rate, which means, there are more motorists that encounter no problem)," he said, "Magmula August, meron na tayong sticker replacement program (And since August, we have been conducting sticker replacement program)."
Revocation threats
Amid social media reports that some motorists are still being charged for using the Valenzuela City-segment of NLEX, Gatchalian issued a warning against the company that he would revoke their business permit should they not rebate the fees despite the toll holiday.
"This was reported to me...this is not good faith. Good faith is following the law even if it's painful on your part. If you keep this up we will be forced to go to the next step which is to revoke your permit for violations to the suspension order," he told NLEX in a Twitter post.
"We are watching. Rebate niyo yan (You should rebate the fees)," he added.
Gatchalian has suspended the business permit of NLEX Corp. in the city over the "atrocious traffic situation" on the expressway caused by the glitches of RFID's toll fee collection system.
Tollgates that are currently on toll holiday are Karuhatan-Mindanao Ave. Toll Plaza, Karuhatan-Harbor Link Toll Plaza, Karuhatan-MacArthur Highway Sub-Exit, Midanao Ave. Toll Plaza, Paso de Blas Toll Blaza northbound and southbound, and Lawang Bato Toll Booth.