A CONGRESSMAN from Central Luzon is seeking an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the petition of the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) for a 15-percent average increase in toll at the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex).
In House Resolution 1653, National Unity Party Rep. Gavino C. Pancho of Bulacan warned that the increase will negatively afffect the cost of produce transported through the tollway such as rice, meat and other commodities.
The resolution added that the State through the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) supports the policy that any toll increase to be imposed must be just and reasonable, and should follow the procedures set by law, such as the conduct of public hearings and consultations, before being implemented.
“The MNTC has not yet complied fully with such requirements and similarly presents no justifiable basis at this time to seek an increase in toll rates at the Nlex, thereby rendering such request as inimical to the interest of the riding public and the business community who use the Nlex for their livelihood,” Pancho’s resolution added.
He also called on the MNTC to submit to the House of Representatives and to his office any study that the company has done as basis for applying for a 15-percent average toll-rate increase.
Pancho, a vice chairman of the House Committee on Cooperatives Development, said the ongoing industrialization and improving economy of Bulacan and other provinces at the country’s northern corridor have resulted in greater migration, a rise in the number of factories and other business establishments.
The developments also resulted in a growing local population along said areas and an increased production, flow and transportation of goods on the Nlex the resolution said. Pancho said the MNTC, which manages the Nlex, reported posting a P1.82 billion, or 6-percent increase in its net profit, in the first nine months of 2014 owing to the significant rise in the traffic of vehicles passing through the tollway.
The MNTC has filed a formal request with the TRB for a 15-percent average increase in toll at the Nlex, that it seeks to implement this month.
Earlier, MNTC President Rodrigo Franco justified the toll-increase petition, saying that it was “long overdue as the fees being charged today are lower than when the MNTC began operating the Nlex in 2005.”
He cited that the MNTC originally charged P42 ($0.93) per entry for the open system and P2.48 ($0.055) per kilometer for the closed system.
The MNTC is now charging motorists P45 ($1) per entry.
Minus the value-added tax, the toll is only P41 ($0.91) per entry for the open system and P2.38 ($0.053)per km for the closed system.