Medical frontliners will be allowed to use the newly opened Skyway Stage 3 for free indefinitely, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said that healthcare professionals will still be able to enjoy free passage along the elevated expressway even when Skyway 3 begins its toll collection after Feb. 1.
“Some 10,400 medical practitioners at the frontlines of the continuing battle against COVID-19 pandemic, will be allowed to use the newly-opened Skyway 3 for free indefinitely, the same way they have been allowed to use all SMC expressways toll-free since the pandemic hit the country in March last year,” Ang said.
The no toll fees program for medical front liners is among the company’s continuing COVID-19 response initiatives.
“This time of pandemic, we need to help our country, our fellow Filipinos, and each other, as much as we can. We have been providing this courtesy to our medical practitioners non-stop, because it’s our way of honoring them and thanking them for their selfless efforts to save lives and to help us survive this crisis,” Ang said.
Meanwhile, Ang reported that the company has waived a total of P156 million in toll fees for doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, and other medical workers fighting the pandemic.
In the first two weeks since it was soft-opened, the Skyway 3 recorded an average of 71,000 vehicles per day. Fully operational, Skyway 3 can easily accommodate 200,000 vehicles or half of daily Edsa traffic, according to Ang.
“Completing and delivering Skyway 3 in this time of pandemic has both tangible benefits and symbolic significance for our people. For so many decades, we have all suffered through by now countless hours of traffic on Edsa and most of our major roads. With Skyway Stage 3, motorists now have the option to take a much faster route that will save them time and fuel. But the real beauty of it is this will also decongest Edsa and other roads, making travel there for many people also easier,” Ang said.
