By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) postponed the implementation of new tollway guidelines, which impose fines on motorists with no radio frequency identification (RFID) tags or insufficient funds on their accounts, to Oct. 1. 

“We hope the concerned agencies and tollway operators would use the 30-day deferment to fine-tune expressway operations and further intensify the public information campaign to enable tollway users to comply with the new guidelines,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said in a statement on Tuesday.

The new rules, under Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2024-001, were supposed to be enforced starting Aug. 31.

Under the rules, all motorists passing through expressways without RFID tags or having insufficient balance on their accounts will face penalties starting Aug. 31.

“These revised guidelines should significantly improve traffic along expressways through cashless or contactless toll plazas,” Mr. Bautista said.

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) said motorists entering an access highway without RFID tags or electronic toll collection (ETC) device will incur a fine of P1,000 for the first offense, P2,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 for subsequent offenses.

Motorists exiting toll expressways with insufficient account balance will be fined P500 for the first offense, P1,000 for the second offense, and P2,500 for subsequent offenses.

Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior adviser on public-private partnership at Libra Konsult, Inc. supports the decision of the Transportation department to postpone the implementation of the new rules.

“I agree and support the extension. The intent is wider compliance, not monetary consideration. So, sufficient public advice should be issued through all media means,” Mr. Villarete said in a Viber message to BusinessWorld on Tuesday.

The government’s move to impose fines on users with insufficient balance is just as this causes congestion at toll booths, Mr. Villarete said.

However, he noted that penalties for those without RFID tags is “unjustified.”

Mr. Villarete said tollway operators should retain cash lanes for infrequent users of expressways.

Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, said the DoTr should completely abandon its plan to impose penalties on users with insufficient account balances.

“TRB or DoTr should scrap the penalties for insufficient balance, not simply defer the date. What it should penalize are the glitches in the tollway system. Impose deadlines plus penalties on system interoperability,” Mr . Santiago said in a message on Tuesday.

Mr. Santiago said fines for those with insufficient balance is unnecessary as toll operators can always regain funds once motorists reload their RFID wallets.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) President and Chief Executive Officer Rogelio L. Singson has said earlier that imposition of fines would ensure the full implementation of a cashless collection system.

He said the implementation of a cashless toll collection is a prerequisite for the eventual shift to electronic toll collection interoperability by October.

The TRB is aiming to introduce a unified RFID wallet system or interoperability between Easytrip and Autosweep by October.

Easytrip is used on MPTC’s North Luzon Expressway, Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway, Manila-Cavite Expressway, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway.

Meanwhile, Autosweep is used on the San Miguel group’s Skyway, South Luzon Expressway, NAIA Expressway, Southern Tagalog Arterial Road Tollway, and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway. Autosweep is also used on the Villar group’s Muntinlupa Cavite Expressway.

BusinessWorld sought comments from toll road operators MPTC and San Miguel Corp. but had not received a response as of the deadline.

MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.