Supreme Court junks plea vs SLEX toll

Because of a mere technicality, the Supreme Court thumbed down yesterday a petition trying to stop the collection of toll rates on the South Luzon Expressway which the petitioners said were "exorbitant."

The court said the petitioners, lawyer Ceferino Padua and Parañaque Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, used "unconventional" legal remedies which "unfortunately are procedurally impermissible."

The petitioners should not have filed a petition before the Supreme Court without going first to the Toll Regulatory Board, it said.

"The TRB, as the agency assigned to supervise the collection of toll fees and the operation of toll facilities, has the necessary expertise, training and skills to judiciously decide matters of this kind," the court said in a decision penned by Justice Angelina Gutierrez.

The SC, nevertheless, commended Padua and Zialcita for devoting their time and effort on a matter imbued with public interest.