The House Committee on Transportation chaired by Antipolo City Representative Romeo Acop is set to file a resolution recommending to scrap or delay the implementation of the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) which would penalize motorists with insufficient or zero load balance on radio frequency identification devices (RFID), as well as with dilapidated electronic identifier device (ETC), among others.
The penalties are contained in JMC 2024-001, or the Revised Guidelines for All Vehicles Travelling on Toll Expressways, signed by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Land Transportation Office chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II and Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) Executive Director Alvin Carullo.
The JMC was originally set for implementation starting Aug. 31, which has been moved to Oct. 1 this year.
Committee members criticized the arbitrary issuance of the JMC without public consultation or hearing.
“As chair of the transportation committee, I am against your circular,” Acop said.
The veteran legislator then directed the committee secretary to prepare a resolution expressing the position of the panel that they are recommending the scrapping or delaying the implementation of the JMC until the committee will be satisfied that the tollways systems are efficient.
He said that should a lawmaker file a resolution calling for an investigation on the JMC, then the committee would act on it.
Acop asked the TRB about the logic behind the JMC issuance despite the inefficiency of the tollway system.
He also queried if the JMC proponents ever conducted a survey to determine the capacity of commuters or motorists to load P1,000 or P3,000 for their RFID.
“‘Di naman lahat ng tao kaya magbayad dyan sa gusto ninyo.”
“Nagiging arbitrary ang paglagay ninyo ng penalty dito kung hindi ninyo kinonduct ‘yang study na ‘yan. ‘Di naman lahat ng tao kaya magbayad dyan sa gusto ninyo. Sino ba talaga ang boss ninyo: yung mga concessionaires o yung mga taong nagco-commute dyan? And your answer was the people commuting. But the way I look at it, hindi,” Acop said.
Carullo said the JMC was issued to reduce traffic at the toll gates, which occurs when a motorist does not have a sufficient RFID load, the tollway barrier will not lift up.
On the penalty issue, he clarified that this falls under the jurisdiction of the LTO.
“Iba po yung guidelines sa penalty sa toll operators. Yun po yung Minimum Performance Standards and Specifications (MPSS) for Toll Collection System (TCS) of Expressways,” Carullo explained.
Abang Lingkod Party-list Representative Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano said the penalty is such a big issue that the JMC proponents should not have excluded it from the JMC.
“Napakainit na issue ito tapos sasabihin mo ung penalty (for concessionaires) po nasa kabila. Joint Memorandum Circular ito, dapat pinasok ninyo dito. You said you are protecting the commuters pero yung public consultation hindi ninyo ginawa,” Paduano said.
The legislator also asked what is the guarantee that after the Oct. 1 deadline, the tollway system would have been improved.
“Dapat pag-aralan muna bago maglagay ng specific deadline.”
“Hindi kasalanan ng commuters. May problema ang system ninyo. Do you commit that after October 1, okey na lahat? Huwag kayong maglagay ng date na hindi ninyo kaya, tanggalin muna ito. Dapat pag-aralan muna bago maglagay ng specific deadline,” the lawmaker said.
ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro said the JMC proponents were being insensitive for imposing additional burden on motorists, many of whom are struggling with meager income.
