With just a few months left, and with the election season entering full swing, it’s hard to say if a tollroad rate increase will be implemented before President Aquino’s term ends.
What’s certain, though, is that the bill in terms of forgone revenues continues to swell.
Delays on the part of the regulator meant multiyear forgone revenues at the North Luzon Expressway and Manila Cavite Expressway now amounted to P4 billion, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. CEO Rodrigo Franco told Biz Buzz. That compares to almost P3.2 billion last year.
Broken down, that running balance translated to P3.2 billion for NLEx and P800 million for Cavitex, Franco pointed out.
Those figures are no joke since motorists are going to have to pay for it one way or another. Also, it goes without saying that the balance rises with every passing vehicle, every day.
This time around, however, the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) seems to be taking some action, if only to stop Metro Pacific from initiating legal proceedings via arbitration.
We’re told the regulator has requested more time, or until next month, as they’re still clearing certain procedures relating to the toll rate adjustment, which is also being sought by other expressway operators. These procedures include a review by the Commission on Audit.
This is, of course, a far cry from previous instances where operators said they were practically being ignored by the TRB.
Again, depending on how things play out, Metro Pacific signaled that it was ready to pull the trigger on arbitration proceedings.
“We are preparing for arbitration but at the same time listening to the government’s request to give them time to clarify the issues,” Franco said. Miguel R. Camus
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