Cops, soldiers in South collect illegal toll fees

DAVAO CITY -- Mindanao businessmen are decrying the illegal toll fees collected by unscrupulous policemen, soldiers and other government personnel in checkpoints throughout the island, which they said are increasing the transport cost of agricultural and marine products.

In a study, the Mindanao Business Council (MBC) said the collection of illegal toll fees is still rampant in many checkpoints along national and secondary roads in the island.

The illegal fees, the council noted, account for as much as 30 percent of the total trucking cost of agricultural and fish products.

Truck operators have complained that although they have complied with legal requirements, policemen, soldiers and even militiamen collect toll fees of at least P50 to P100 from them at each checkpoint. Some checkpoints, they said, are just a few kilometers away from each other.

A number of highway patrollers and enforcers of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) also flag down truck drivers and collect P20 to P200 from them.

Personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways are also reportedly collecting fees from truckers beyond the prescribed amount based on vehicle weight and load limit.

On top of these illegal fees, Mindanao businessmen have also raised concern over the imposition by provincial governments and other local units of so-called transport delivery tax from truckers passing through national roads in their respective jurisdictions.