Sotto seeks temporary toll holiday

MANILA, Philippines - Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III has called for a temporary toll holiday for motorists at the major expressways of the country in order to ease the traffic on these roads in anticipation of the return of motorists to Manila after the long break.

At the same time, Sotto said giving back to the public would be a good gesture by the toll operators.

In a statement, Sotto said motorists should be given a break during the holidays by allowing them free passage through the main expressways.

He said he is currently studying making the grant of a toll holiday for motorists a regular affair during holiday-related days designated by the Department of Transportation and Communications.

He said that this can be done during Christmas, New Year, Holy Week, All Saints’ Day and other holidays when city residents travel to the provinces.

Sotto said this would be a way to ease the traffic along the expressways brought about by the failure of the toll operators to come up with a solution to speed up the turnover of vehicles at the toll plazas.

“There are only a handful of holidays in the country. I hope that they can consider this suggestion as a way of giving back to the public,” Sotto said.

“As soon as the Senate resumes its session after the Christmas break, I will file a resolution that would seek to review the franchise or charter of the Toll Regulatory Board,” he added.

Sotto also supported the call of Senate President Franklin Drilon for the installation of a synchronized toll collection system for connecting expressways so as not to delay the movement of vehicles using freeways, especially during the peak holiday season.

Drilon called for an inquiry into the current toll collection system after experiencing an 11-and-a-half-hour travel to Baguio City from Manila due to the long queues at the toll plazas.

In a recent radio interview, Drilon said that the problem was due to the various stops motorists have to make along the expressways to pay the toll because these are operated by different entities.

Drilon proposed an integrated system for the collection of fees in order to speed up the flow of vehicles at the expressways.