Increased support sought for DA truck rebate program

MANILA, Philippines —  Toll operators have been urged to support and participate in a rebate program of the Department of Agriculture (DA), which aims to help lessen the impact of rising fuel prices on vehicles transporting agricultural produce.

Agriculture Undersecretary Arrey Perez said the DA is waiting for tollway operators including San Miguel Corp. and those associated with the Villar Group to confirm their participation in the program.

Meanwhile, the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. – through NLEX Corp., Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. and MPCALA Holdings Inc. – has reinstated the toll rebate program starting Oct. 1.

Under the program, qualified vehicles will no longer receive discounts directly at toll plazas.

Instead, these vehicles will pay the full toll amount, with the corresponding rebate to be credited later to their radio frequency identification (RFID) accounts.

Only DA-accredited trucks and cargo vehicles transporting agricultural produce and other goods are allowed to participate in the rebate program.

The program will run until Nov. 30, with rebates for eligible transactions having been credited to the RFID accounts of qualified subscribers since Oct. 8.

Perez said expanding the program to other tollway networks would increase the number of potentially eligible beneficiaries.

The agency said any reduction in toll rates can help ease transportation costs for qualified truck operators, and stabilize prices for the distribution of agricultural commodities.

The program’s overall effectiveness will depend on the number of participating toll operators and the ability of the DA to maintain a reliable and validated registry.

The DA said it is currently updating its list of eligible agricultural truckers and delivery vehicles to ensure that rebates are granted only to qualified beneficiaries.

Perez said truck operators must update their records as the DA will clean its registry before submitting the final roster of qualified beneficiaries to the Toll Regulatory Board.  – Josiah Antonio