Manila 1st district Rep. Manny Lopez insisted Sunday that the cashless toll collection scheme shouldn't be forced on motorists.
"The cashless transaction should not be mandatory. The motorists should not be subjugated to this process," said Lopez, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development.
The Tondo-based lawmaker dubbed cashless toll collection as "anti-poor" Tuesday, given that it is supposedly not advisable for vehicle owners to just keep minimum load on their Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
"In all probability no one at any point in time just maintains the minimum balance. I see vehicles in front of me that have balances of tens of thousands of pesos," Lopez said. The minimum load requirement for one RFID ranges from P200 to P400.
Referring to the tollway operators, Lopez said: "They would be holding billions of pesos in advance and, considering that no discount is given for any prepaid amount, they can already use and are being paid even if their services have not been availed of. To be sure, it appears that there is an undue advantage on toll operators and an obvious disadvantage to vehicle owners with this current cashless system."
The cashless system being imposed at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) is meant to lessen person-to-person contact at tollways, but it has had its critics.
For those who choose to avail themselves of cashless toll payment, Lopez said toll operators can formulate "discounts and/or a rebate system for motorists," if only to help offset the "undue advantage" that he referred to. He didn't expound on his suggestions.
There are more than 3.2 million vehicles outfitted with RFID out of the 12.7 million registered vehicles in the country.