Regulatory failure

It was absolutely clear from the Senate hearing last week that the Toll Regulatory Board failed in its job of regulating the tollway companies. Indeed, the hearing chaired by Sen. Grace Poe unmasked the TRB’s executive director as someone who has no idea what his job is.

The guy had to admit the TRB has no standards by which to measure the performance of the tollway companies. Since they have no standards, they also have no schedule of sanctions.

Based on a transcript of the hearing tweeted by CNN Philippines, DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade immediately apologized “to the public who have been inconvenienced by the heavy congestion at the NLEX. Some points of the department order on cashless transactions may have contributed to this.”

Tugade explained that as a daily user of the expressways, he already saw the problematic situation – which was why he ordered the extension of the Nov. 2 deadline for another 30 days.

Tugade: “Nagbigay rin ako ng tatlong instructions: huwag alisin ang cash booths, walang fines at aresto, at payagang bumaybay ang mga sasakyan sa tollways kahit walang RFID.”

When I interviewed Sec. Art last Friday via Zoom, I told him that the press releases of DOTr and TRB gave a different impression: the final deadline is Jan. 1, 2021 when those without RFID will be fined; it will be all RFID, and no cash lane. This was why San Miguel’s Ramon Ang appealed to retain the cash lane beyond the deadlines.

The Secretary said there is obviously a failure of communication and he should have been more proactive in expressing his views and his orders.

Tugade told the hearing that the blame is obviously TRB’s: “Usapang prangkahan ito. Nakita ko na there is failure of implementation dito sa TRB kaya sabi ko kailangang tugunan ito.”

Apparently, TRB did not heed Tugade’s instructions: “I instructed TRB to deploy roving and stationed toll marshals, conduct regular monthly audits with daily reports of the toll marshals, and to intensify enforcement.”

Those were also my suggestions in this column early on. Sheer common sense.

Sec. Art repeated in my interview with him, his admission during the hearing that he has not given TRB much attention. He has delegated attendance to board meetings to Undersecretary Benny Reinoso, who obviously failed him.

Tugade: “Tama po kayo ako ang chairman ng TRB. Hindi po personal na presensiya namin ang pag-attend ng board dahil sa dami ng attached agencies namin. Nakakarating ba sa amin ang mga nangyayari sa board? Minsan oo, karamihan hindi.”

It was explained that DOTr only oversees policy and program coordination, while the TRB executive director is in charge of day-to-day operations.

That led Sen. Poe to observe: “The TRB, like the NDRRMC and PhilHealth, suffers from a governing board dominated by ex-officio Cabinet secretaries who have more important things to do. The future of the TRB is another issue that should be resolved in this hearing.”

Sen. Poe also said that “the backlash in the cashless toll collecting service highlights the importance of careful planning.”

That’s another point I have previously made in this column. Don’t launch half-baked programs.

TRB executive director Abraham Sales told the hearing that they had two audits of the operational aspects of the cashless scheme. He claimed that the  audit results were given to the operators “at napagsabihan na i-correct ‘yung deperensya.

Tugade said he did not get the details of said reports.

Asked if the TRB has a system of evaluating violations of toll operations contracts, Sales admitted they have none.

Sales: “Sa kontrata po ni NLEX, wala pong specific na standard na dinescribe. Iyong TRB, pinapaubaya sa kanila. Ang nakalagay sa kontrata, maglagay sila ng electronic toll collection system.”

Sen. Gatchalian: “Mula 2017 hanggang ngayon, nagbigay na ba kayong multa or any punishment to the operator? Or sinanction?”

Sales: “Yung multa wala po. Yung sanction tinitingnan po dahil sa nangyari noong nakaraang linggo.”

Sen. Gatchalian: “Puro pakiusap, walang sanction.”

Exactly what we meant by regulatory capture in a previous column. TRB is toothless.

To this, Tugade replied: “Kung talagang marami nang violation, under the concession agreement, may karapatan ang TRB na mag-impose ng sanction, penalty at fine.”

Asked by Sen. Gatchalian if all the RFID readers are now fully functional, Sales sounded defensive for the operators.

Sales: “Hindi pa po ayos in so far as the throughput is concerned. Iyong iba naayos… dahil sa paglipas ng panahon, iyong iba naman ang nagkakaroon ng deperensya.

“Naayos naman nila ‘yung nabanggit. Lumuluma na ‘yung equipment and sticker, nag-iiba na ‘yung problema.”

Sen. Poe asked TRB director Sales: “In the four years (of your term) did they pay a single penalty?”

Sales: “Wala po.”

Sen. Poe: “So obviously hindi niyo ginagawa trabaho niyo ng tamang evaluation kasi daming reklamo, wala namang penalty nilalagay.”

Sen. Poe to Sales: “You are being the scapegoat now in a way because it seems that the incompetence also points to you.”

Sen. Gatchalian: “Paano natin masasabi kung ang NLEX ay magaling o hindi?”

Sales: “Ang reference po natin ay yung industrywide na ina-adopt ng ibang expressways.”

Sen. Gatchalian: “May problema tayo dahil hindi natin name-measure ang performance ng NLEX at kayo mismo na regulator should be measuring them.”

Tugade agrees: “Kailangan magkaroon rin ng standard of penalties. The absence of key performance indicators and sanctions and penalties are expressions of the failure of enforcement and failure of implementation.”

Reinoso tried to cover up for the TRB’s failure by saying they act if the matters are brought to their attention. But Sen. Poe was not buying it.

“The board is responsible for the executive director. He is not doing his job. In short, hindi tinatanong ng board, ‘dahil policy lang kami.’ Pero paano ka gagawa ng policy kung hindi mo alam ang feedback ng nasa baba?”

In my conversation with Sec. Art, he disclaims knowing Sales. The guy was supposedly sponsored by a formerly powerful congressman from Davao.

But Sales was appointed during Duterte’s watch. The administration is responsible for his lack of performance. He must be sanctioned too… or better yet, fired.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco