No terminal fee at PITX —DOTr exec

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Monday assured the riding public that it will not impose terminal fee at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), which is set to be launched later this afternoon.

"Actually, wala tayong i-impose na terminal fee para sa mga pasahero. Ang talagang kinaganda ng development natin, sa concessionaire agreement natin, 'yung concessionaire ng terminal, si Megawide, hahayaan natin siyang gumawa ng leasable areas na puwede niyang i-develop into commercial phases," said DOTr Undersecretary Mark De Leon in an interview on Unang Balita.

"Doon sila kikita para 'yung mga pasahero hindi na kailangan singilin ng terminal fee."

He added that the contract will go on for 35 years.

"'Yun talaga walang dagdag sa pasahe, pero may convenience sa pasahero. 'Yan ang objective natin," De Leon said, adding PITX, dubbed as the country’s first “landport,” would be operational next week.

"Operational na 'to next week. Mag-uumpisa na tayo ng mga dry-run niya pero this week titingnan natin, kakausapin natin 'yung MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) para sa traffic management sa area and 'yung Cavitex area. Inuunti-unti natin pero anytime naman ready ma-launch," the DOTr official said.

In a separate interview on Dobol B sa News TV, De Leon said bus operators would be responsible for paying the terminal fee.

"Ang kinaganda po ng sistema natin ngayon, 'yung terminal fee po ay mapupunta sa gobyerno, 'yung terminal fee na ibabayad ng mga operators. Gobyerno po ang kokolekta diyan. Dito sa PITX natin ang kino-compute natin ay less than P100 a trip 'yung sisingilin lang natin sa bus operators," he said.

"Annually, ang tina-target natin na kikitain ng gobyerno ay P100 million kada taon. Basically ayaw nating maging inconvenient ito sa mga bus operators kaya tinatantsa natin 'yung sisingilin natin," De Leon added.

Jeepneys and UV Express who will utilize the terminal building will also be minimally-charged, according to De Leon.

President Rodrigo Duterte will lead the inauguration of PITX, described as the "first integrated and multi-modal terminal in the southwestern part of Metro Manila, serving as a transfer point among provincial buses from Cavite, Batangas, and in-city modes of transportation."

The terminal building has a maximum daily capacity of 100,000 passengers and peak-hour passenger volume of 4,380 arrivals and 3,808 departures.

The DOTr earlier noted that the terminal would also house a centralized shopping center as well as health and wellness amenities. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News