House transportation chair blames Toll Regulatory Board over RFID mess

House Committee on Transportation chairperson Edgar Sarmiento on Wednesday blamed the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) over the issues rising from the implementation of the cashless toll system.

In a media forum, Sarmiento reiterated that it was the TRB that was tasked to promulgate the rules and regulations for the implementation of the cashless toll system using radio frequency identification (RFID) —a job which, for him, the agency failed to do.

"Para sa akin ang may sala dito ang TRB. TRB ang ahensyang nilagay ng gobyerno, this is a republic act, binibigyang otoridad ang TRB to regulate, magpatakbo ng iba't ibang tollway or expressway sa buong bansa," he said.

"Sa akin, kung ginagawa ang trabaho ng TRB, matagal na nilang naaksyunan ito," he added.

Sarmiento said the TRB could have admitted that the cashless payment system was not implementable instead of pushing through with it despite the lingering issues.

"Kung ako ay nakatanggap ng memorandum, ako si TRB, idadahilan ko naman na hindi kaya. Huwag naman pilitin. Kaya ang nangyari, ginagawa ang public road as parking area. Mali yun," he said.

"Ang haba-haba ng mga expressway. Bakit iniligay nila doon ang lagayan ng sticker? That's management [issue]," he added.

Heavy traffic has been observed at toll plazas at the North Luzon Expressway since the cashless payment system was implemented on December 1 as mandated by the Department of Transportation.

The traffic has spilled into the areas nearby such as Karuhatan in Valenzuela City.

Some lanes of the NLEX toll plaza are for vehicles with RFID, while others are for installation of RFID stickers.

Sarmiento said he has already written to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade to push back the implementation of the cashless payment system to January next year in order to address the remaining issues.

If the DOTr will not heed the House's call, Sarmiento said they may be forced to block the budget of the TRB for 2021.

"May huli pa kaming alas, sa ratification ng budget. Sana makinig naman sa amin ang DOTr," he said.

TRB spokesperson Julius Corpuz on Tuesday apologized to the public over the inconvenience that the implementation of the cashless toll system has brought.

The agency, he said, was already discussing possible temporary interventions and permanent solutions to the problem.

Valenzuela City mayor Rex Gatchalian earlier suspended the NLEX's business permit to operate in the city over the issue.—LDF, GMA News