The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that radio frequency identification (RFID) users who frequently enter toll roads with insufficient load will soon be penalized.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Transportation Undersecretary for Finance Garry de Guzman said the number of motorists who repeatedly use tollways with insufficient RFID balance has increased.
“Since marami ng RFID users, marami rin ho ‘yung nag-aabuso. Pumapasok po sila ng mga RFID lanes na wala talagang load. You will be surprised. ‘Yung statistics po na binigay ng mga operators, meron po mga 50 times, 200 times pumapasok walang load,” he said.
De Guzman said that the Toll Regulatory Board will soon adopt a policy that will penalize repeat offenders.
“So ang napagkasunduan po sa board sa meeting namin kahapon with Sec. Tugade, maga-adopt na po kami ng strike 3 policy. Kumbaga, kung naka-strike 3 ka na, na pumasok ng RFID lanes na wala ka namang load, huhulihin ka na,” he explained
“Sa first offense, siyempre nasa transition pa ho tayo, hindi ka muna huhulihin. Ire-remind ka, mag load ka. Second offense mo, pumasok ka na naman – warning. Third offense, huhulihin ka na at ia-apply sayo ‘yung mga penalties na pinapatupad dun sa ganung violation before pre-COVID,” De Guzman said.
The DOTr official said that the policy aims to instill discipline among motorists.
“Sa ganito po madidisilpina natin yung mga tao na mag-load naman before pumasok ng RFID lanes para hindi ka maka-abala naman dun sa mga compliant RFID users,” he explained.
As for complaints about RFID loading, De Guzman said: “Kinausap ko na rin po during our dialogue ‘yung mga operators [at] ginagawa na po nila ‘yung paraan para dun sa mga merchants nila na ginagamit na mga RFID users for loading to be real time.”