“The toll increases will stay. No, you (reporters) are not going to see any bold announcement today as to reduction. You just have to bear with it, we will see the benefits in due time,” Secretary Ricky Carandang told Palace reporters.

The same is true with MRT fares already approved in principle by the Palace, which recommended the rates to be applied but these would have to be decided by the regulatory boards.

“It won’t be that much because we have flexibility in MRT,” Carandang said, noting that the billions in subsidy from the national government have been helping Metro Manila passengers to the point that the whole nation is already subsidizing MRT commuters.

“It’s a difficult choice to make. Do we take those billions to subsidize the Metro Manila-based commuters? Or do we take those billions and use that for something that will have an impact on the anti-poverty measures nationwide?” he asked.

“So, it’s a difficult choice. We know that it’s not a choice that we’d like to make, but we have to prioritize. Then I think that priority is spending on the programs that (would benefit) the broader segment of the country,” Carandang added.

However, it would be up to DOTC Secretary Jose de Jesus to disclose all the details.

With regard to toll increases, the head of the Presidential Communications Office for Strategic Planning and Development said the “focus is more on SLEX,” because of various complaints over the 250 percent increase.

“We don’t have the power to stop the increases. It’s been done by the Supreme Court already,” Carandang stressed, in reference to the Toll Regulatory Board (at SLEX) ruling detailing the toll rates.

He repeated that the increases will be done gradually or on a staggered basis “so that the people don’t feel the pain right away.”

“We are abiding by our contractual obligations,” Carandang said, fully aware of the country’s obligations to the foreign investor that built the tollways, where the government is obligated to pay the amount, as per the build-operate-transfer law.

He also downplayed the effects the toll rate increases will have on the country’s inflation, and said that approved rates are “actually lower than (what) was originally applied for by the operator.”

Carandang said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas did a “sensitivity analysis” that factored in the toll hikes, and came out with the “estimate even with the increases, the national inflation should be somewhere between 3.4 percent, which is very manageable.”

“So we believe that the toll increases themselves will not have significant impact on the economy. We believe that in the end, the consumer is willing to bear some of these increases if they see a tangible improvement in the services and quality of the roads.”

Fare hike inevitable

But the toll increase has pushed a group of bus operators servicing passengers in Southern Luzon to file a fare hike petition before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The South Luzon Bus Operators Association, comprising 20 bus firms, filed the fare hike petition, according to LTFRB board member Manuel Iway.

“As of Jan. 1, the Alabang-Calamba portion of the South Luzon Expressway increased its toll prices on all classes of vehicles,” the petition stated.

According to the group of bus operators, Class 2 vehicles, which cover passenger buses, are now being charged P282 from the previous P173 rate from Nichols to Calamba.

The bus operators’ group is asking for an increase from P35 to P60 for the first 26 kilometers for provincial air-conditioned buses. They also want to charge P2.50 – from the present P1.65 – for every succeeding kilometer.

As for provincial ordinary buses, the petitioners want to charge P11.5 – from the present P9 – for the first 5 kilometers, and for every succeeding kilometer, P1.80 from the present P1.30.

In an interview, Iway said they will set a public hearing on the petition for fare increase to better scrutinize the bus operators’ appeal.

“We will invite stakeholders, particularly (the groups of) commuters, who will be affected in the event of a fare increase. They could file an opposition to it (petition) if they want to,” he said.

According to the LTFRB executive, the board will also seek the opinion of the Office of the Solicitor General.

Cayetano wants audit before increase

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano called for the deferment of any increase in the toll of the three major expressways until an audit of the books of the toll operators is conducted either by the Commission on Audit (COA) or the Senate.

Cayetano welcomed the move of the executive branch to look for ways to mitigate the planned increase in the toll of the SLEX, NLEX and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), but said this is not enough and an audit of the books must be done.

“I agree with the Palace that they are doing their best on the issue of toll increase and that it would be better to mitigate this with a gradual increase in the toll,” Cayetano said.

However, he argued that an audit of the books of the toll operators would be the best move at this time because it would show everyone if the rate increases are necessary.

He said either the COA or the Senate should see the computation of revenues and total cost of the investments made by the toll operators to determine if the toll increases were justified.

“Because I personally do not believe that their computations were right and that they need so much to get a return on their investments,” Cayetano said. “I’d like to see an audit first before we give in to their request for a toll increase.”

He said the toll operators have nothing to lose by opening their books for an audit, especially if the rate increases they are asking for are justified.

Delon Porcalla, Philippine Star