DOTr to evaluate TRB management after Duterte scolding

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Thursday said a "management evaluation" will be conducted in the Toll Regulatory Board after President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at the agency for the massive inconvenience caused by the shift to cashless transactions at the tollways in Luzon.

On Wednesday night, Duterte said the TRB should have first tested the RFID system and how it would affect traffic at the toll gates. He then called out its members for “incompetence.”

Duterte made the remark in the presence of Tugade, who as the head of the Department of Transportation is the chairman of the TRB.

“Napakaganda hong pananaw ang pinakita ng ating mahal na Pangulo kagabi sapagkat nakita nila at nakita ko rin ho naman na nagkaroon ng tinatawag na failure of implementation,” Tugade said in an interview on Balitanghali.

“Sa kadahilanang ito, dapat lang silipin at repasuhin ‘yong kapasidad ng management. Kung mayroong failure of implementation diyan, kaya pa bang isunod, mauulit pa ba ito? So magkakaroon ho ng tinatawag na management evaluation para matugunan ‘yong sinabi at kautusan ng ating mahal na Pangulo kahapon,” he added.

Tugade, however, said aside from the TRB, the service provider is also to blame for the mess.

He said the TRB, although an attached agency of the DOTr, independently implements the policies formulated by the department.

“Mayroon hong presidential decree na na-issue pa noong mga nakaraang administrasyon na binibigyan ng independence ‘yong TRB. Ibig sabihin, ang gawain at responsibilidad ng DOTr ay magbigay ng mga polisiya. ‘Yong pag-implement on a day-to-day basis ay ganap at buo at lubos na nasa TRB,” he said.

“Hindi ko sinasabing dapat walang sisihin. Dapat mayroon din pero ‘yong day-to-day ho ‘yan ay doon ho talaga sa Toll Regulatory Board,” he added.

Duterte earlier blasted the TRB for its failure to conduct a trial run of the cashless payment system before mandating all motorists to comply with the use of RFID stickers.

Duterte also sympathized with Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, who earlier suspended the business permit of the North Luzon Expressway Corporation over the heavy traffic caused by the cashless system. 

Tugade, meanwhile, apologized to motorists and the local government units affected by the RFID mess. —KBK, GMA News