The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) strongly opposed the planned reimplementation of the cashless toll collection policy, which has since been suspended by the government.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr), under newly appointed Secretary Vince Dizon, ordered a pause on the program on Friday, Feb. 21, citing the need for further review.
This comes a day after Philexport sent letters to the new DOTr chief and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., asserting the group’s opposition to the policy.
The country’s leading umbrella group of exporters said the shift to cashless tollways was not only “extortionary and anti-poor”, but also “costly and cumbersome.”
Philexport raised concern about the use of radio frequency identification (RFID), noting that this is an outdated technology that has already been replaced in exchange for more efficient systems in other countries.
Toll concessionaires and operators should instead consider automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), which is readily available from local providers, the group said.
ANPR technology would have the capability to be linked to electronic payments, such as credit or debit cards, and other similar facilities.
“By moving to this platform, the burden of advancing deposits that is being done under the RFID will also be addressed,” Philexport President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in the letter.
In a bid to improve efficiency, Ortiz-Luis proposed the issuance of cards that are transferable to other vehicles and valid in all tollways regardless of the operator.
“The issue of compatibility of systems should be the responsibility of the operators and should not be passed on to motorists,” he said.
Motorists travelling in Luzon must have two different RFID accounts to traverse expressways.
An Easytrip RFID is for toll roads operated by Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), such as North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). Meanwhile, an Autosweep RFID is needed for toll roads managed by San Miguel Corporation (SMC), such as Skyway and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).
While there is an option for interoperability, a single RFID account for all expressways has yet to be achieved.
With this, Philexport seeks the removal of the existing registration system for motorists who want to apply for an RFID account—after all, they will still be charged with or without registration.
The group is also urging the government to maintain dedicated cash lanes in all tollways to serve as assistance to ordinary motorists.
“This should not disrupt the RFID lane traffic flow since these are also exclusive to RFID users,” said Ortiz-Luis. “As a matter of fact, operators should even add cash lanes depending on the volume of cars that pass through their tolls daily and this will not cost them much.”
On Friday, Dizon announced that he had instructed the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to halt the cashless toll policy, which was supposed to take effect starting March 15.
The DOTr chief stressed the need for further refinement of the program, also describing it as “anti-poor,” as some motorists might not have the financial capability to load their RFID accounts.