SLEX toll hike unjustified, says Arroyo ex-economic adviser

"We deserve an explanation." President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's former economic adviser has joined the mounting opposition against the imminent increase in toll fees at the Alabang to Calamba segment of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). On Thursday, Albay Gov. Jose Salceda said the improvements on the major thoroughfare do not justify the nearly 300 percent increase. He then called for "higher standards of public hearing" because authorities supposedly did not take into consideration the concerns of those in the southern Luzon provinces. Albay is among the provinces in the Bicol Region, whose economic development largely hinges on the SLEX. "Trade with Manila is the lifeblood of Bicol and the SLEX is the main artery. The SLEX toll fee amounts to an unavoidable imposition on our traders, farmers, students who study in NCR, workers who work in [Philippine Economic Zone Authority] zones in Cavite, Laguna and on ordinary families who visit their relatives in Quezon City. We can not even protest by not using it. The prohibitive cost is tantamount to a curtailment of trade and our freedom to travel," Salceda said in a statement. "As a financial analyst, I can easily reckon that it is a homerun for the tollway operator at the expense of users but to use it," he added. Salceda also asked Albay's provincial board to convene and ask the Toll Regulatory Board to review the process it used to approve South Luzon Tollways' proposal to hike the SLEX Alabang to Calamba toll fees. Increased toll fees Starting June 30, motorists would have to pay P2.70 per kilometer, or roughly 320 percent more than the prevailing 82 centavos, for the P30-kilometer stretch from Alabang, Muntinlupa City to Calamba City in Laguna. Hence, Class 1 vehicles would pay P77 from a previous rate of P22. Class 2 vehicles, composed of light trucks and buses, would pay P155 from the current P43. Class 3 vehicles, or the heavy, multi-wheeler trucks, would pay P167 more, from P65 to P232. The TRB and SLTC have repeatedly defended the planned increase, owing to the major rehabilitation work finished last year. The portion from Filinvest in Alabang to Calamba in Laguna, which now comprises eight lanes instead of four, was also finished in 2009. The SLEX rehabilitation, which began in 2006, expanded the 1.2-km Alabang Viaduct and the 27.3-km road from Alabang to Calamba. This is connected with the 7.6-km extension from Calamba to Santo Tomas in Batangas province, linking SLEX with the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road or STAR. The SLEX and STAR connection brings the covered distance to 118 kilometers, the longest expressway in the country. Fare hike looms Because bus operators would have difficulty in shouldering the added cost, commuters from Manila to the Southern Luzon and Bicol provinces might have to pay more to offset the profits to be lost by transport companies. Also on Thursday, South Luzon Bus Operators Association head Homer Mercado said "our last recourse is a fare increase."
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV In an interview on GMA's Unang Hirit, Mercado said a bus going to and from Quezon province for four to six times a day would lose at least P450 daily. Mercado added that the Toll Regulatory Board has yet to explain its how it approved SLTC's proposal. "How did you arrive at this computation? How much did the project cost? We want to qualify and quantify the given documents," he said. For his part, TRB spokesperson Julius Corpuz said concerned groups could file a petition even after the toll hike is implemented on June 30. "Nauunawaan namin ang kanilang saloobin. Dapat sana, after the 90-day period ay magdaos na agad ng public hearing ang bagong pamunuan at ang mga kwestiyon na gaya ng kay Ginoong Homer ay makita ang mga dokumento, ang mga basehan, para malaman kung itong mga toll fees na ito ay nararapat at justifiable," Corpuz sais. (We understand their sentiments. I hope that within the 90-day period after the toll hike is implemented, the new adminsitration could hold a public hearing so that questions, like those of Mister Homer, would be addressed by documents and other bases, so that we know whether these toll fees are proper and justifiable.) — RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV