SLEX to enforce 250% toll hike in August

MANILA, Philippines - The increase in toll rates at the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) of up to 250 percent is inevitable and will be collected from motorists on Aug. 16, an official said yesterday.

Julius Corpuz, spokesperson of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), said the South Luzon Tollways Corp. (SLTC), operator of the SLEX, has already declared its intention to impose the higher fees by that date.

“The new toll (rates) for the SLEX, from Alabang to the Calamba section, is set to be implemented by the SLTC on Aug. 16 after they deferred it a second time early this month,” Corpuz told The STAR.

Unless a valid order is issued stopping it like a court order, it will be implemented by Aug. 16, he added.

However, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Undersecretary for public information Dante Velasco said the toll hike may go down from the 250 percent set by SLTC.

Velasco said DOTC Secretary Jose de Jesus earlier ordered the TRB to review the toll hike schedule submitted by the SLTC and look into the formula used by the latter especially on inflation and foreign currency, particularly the US dollar adjustment.

“But the rate may go down. It may change,” Velasco said.

The TRB is expected to submit the results of the review anytime this week, he said.

“Those toll fees were agreed upon by the government and the concessionaire (SLTC),” Velasco said. “Stopping them from imposing their toll fee hikes would be a breach of contract.”

Corpuz said the SLTC has already installed the computer systems at the SLEX toll plazas, a factor raised by the government when it successfully sought a deferment of the toll fee hikes earlier this month.

“The toll plazas are already there. They are just fine-tuning and testing the equipment and systems,” Corpuz said.

The toll hike will result in owners of Class 1 vehicles having to pay P77 from the current rate of P22 for the use of the 29-kilometer Alabang-Calamba expressway.

Class 2 and 3 vehicles will pay P155 and P232, respectively, when the toll hike is implemented.

The TRB had granted SLTC the authority to operate the SLEX through a toll operation certificate dated Nov. 27, 2009.