INFRASTRUCTURE conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) should soon file a P4.3-billion complaint for arbitration against the government for its alleged failure to implement toll-rate adjustments for two of the expressways it operates.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. President Rodrigo E. Franco said the group is ready to submit the complaint, as foregone revenues from delays in toll increases now amount P3.5 billion at the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) and P800 million at the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Cavitex).
Franco said the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), chaired by Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, has sought a 30-day period within which to reach a compromise.
“It’s a request. I’m not saying that we are agreeing to grant that request. We’re ready to file our arbitration case,” he said. “In fairness to them, they are working on reviewing our petitions. They said they need a few more days to sort out the issue, and we are waiting for an explanation.” The company has already filed notices of claim against the government for its contined refusal to approve the tariff hike, despite such increases being provided for in its contract with the state.
Still, the tollways operator is seeking toll adjustments that have been in limbo for more than four
years already.
“We are waiting for some clarity,” Franco said. “As far as we are concerned, any time that we want to go to arbitration, despite the request, we can go to arbitration.”
The toll regulator has not acted on the company’s petitions for rate increases at Nlex, with one filed yet in 2012 and another in 2014.
The first petition was due on the first of January 2013. The second, submitted on September 30, 2014, would bring the cumulative toll-rate adjustment to 15 percent, of which 12 percent is long overdue,
The concession that the Pangilinan-controlled company holds allows for toll adjustments every two years.
Current toll fees at the thoroughfare (from Mindanao Avenue to Santa Ines) amount to P218 for Class 1 Vehicles (cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans); P544 for Class 2 vehicles (two-axle trucks, buses and vans); and P652 for Class 3 vehicles (trucks and trailers with three or more axles).
For the Cavitex, the company is seeking a 25-percent increase in tariff, as its last increase was yet in 2011. The tollway operator was supposed to implement adjustments in 2014, as its contract with the government allows for such surges.
In absolute terms, the petition for a rate hike for Cavitex are as follows:
■ Class 1 vehicles, including cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans, to P27 from P22;
■ Class 2 vehicles, including two-axle trucks, buses and vans, to P54 from P44; and
■ Class 3 vehicles, including trucks and trailers with three or more axles, to P81 from P66.
Transport officials were not available for comment as of press time.
The tollways arm of Metro Pacific booked a 19-percent increase in its core net income in 2015. Earnings reached P2.6 billion as a result of strong traffic growth in its expressways here and abroad.
The group of Pangilinan is the largest toll-road operators here in the Philippines. It also has significant shareholdings in expressways in Vietnam and Thailand, and is scouting for prospects in Indonesia.
1 comment
Kung papayagan ng gubyerno na magtaas ng singil ng more than 12.0% ang NLEX (every 2 years), malamang UMABOT sa P1,000.0 ang magiging TOLL collection ng NLEX at TPLEX patungo sa BAGUIO City / VIGAN…
kung aabutin ng isang libong piso ang TOLL FEE (one way), baka bumalik na lamang ult ang maraming motorista sa MacARTHUR HIGHWAY….patungong BAGUIO at VIGAN..
mukhang unfaire at hindi makatarungan.. ang lumalabas ngayon, mas mahal pa ang TOLL FEE kaysa sa gastos sa DIESEL / GASOLINA…halos kalahati ng gastusin ng mga motorista patungong NORTE ay napupunta na lamang sa TOLL FEE ?