TRB can revoke concession deals with underperforming tollway operators —Sen. Gatchalian

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) can rescind the government's concession agreements with tollway operators who are not performing well, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Monday.

"Yes, the concession agreement is a privilege that was granted to the operator to build, operate and maintain the highway and the counterparty of that agreement is government through the TRB," Gatchalian, vice chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said in an interview on ANC.

"The concessionaires or the operators were given the privilege to expand, operate and maintain but they have certain minimum requirements that they should perform in order for the public to experience better infrastructure. In this case, the TRB can revoke. It's under their charter if public interest is at risk," he added.

The Senate panel is set to hold a hearing on the radio-frequency identification (RFID) mess this coming Thursday.

The proceedings in the upcoming hearing will help determine if there is enough grounds to revoke the concession deals with the tollway operators in light of the issues hounding the shift to the cashless RFID system.

Starting December 1, major expressways connected to Metro Manila had been instructed by the Department of Transportation to use a full cashless system in a bid to prevent COVID-19 transmission.

However, gridlocks had been experienced in tollways such as the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) due to the glitches in the RFID system.

"It is not a unique technology anymore. It's a very old technology... My hunch here is they did not upgrade their technology," Gatchalian said, lamenting how faulty RFID readers had inconvenienced motorists using NLEX.

He stressed that the tollway users deserve the best because they are paying for everything that the operators invest in.

Defund TRB?

Gatchalian did not agree to some suggestions to defund the TRB because of the problematic implementation of the cashless system, especially in the north.

He said some congressmen made such statements out of sheer frustration.

"But definitely we need a regulator... For me, you just get a qualified executive director," he said.

The senator believes that the holder of the said position is "not doing his job," and reiterated his earlier call that TRB executive director Abraham Sales be replaced.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade should make the appropriate action, according to Gatchalian.

"It's about time for Secretary Tugade to listen to the voice of his constituents in the north — us being users of NLEX," he said.

After the Valenzuela City government suspended the business permit of the NLEX Corp. in its jurisdiction, the TRB announced that cash lanes in expressways have been reopened to prevent heavy traffic.

Representatives of Valenzuela City government and NLEX Corp. are also set to meet on Monday morning to discuss the RFID mess. —KBK, GMA News