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The Central Luzon Truckers call on the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) defer the planned implementation of cashless toll collection system starting March 15, 2025.

The truckers group head Connie Tinio the readiness of toll operators to implement the program smoothly is still in question, saying their members still encounter many problems when passing through RFID lanes.

“Bawat RFID nila, iba-iba ang basa. Bukod pa roon, may mga load na nananakaw. Kaya hindi kami naglo-load ng malaking load sa mga RFID namin kasi nawawala lang,” Tinio said.

“Minsan kahit nabasa na yung RFID mo kung saan ka nag-exit, sisingilin ka niya doon sa farthest destination. Yun ang hindi namin maintindihan, hindi pa rin nagbabago,” she added.

But the toll regulator said that, based on the assessment it made after the trial run of the contactless toll system, many of these issues have already been resolved.

“Marami na rin po doon sa dating problema na ating nararanasan ay naiayos naman na po ng ating mga operators at concessionaires at providers,” said TRB Spokesperson Julius Corpuz in an interview.

Corpuz added that toll operators will also be fined should they fail to deliver on the set standards.

“Pagka may problema kayo, hindi po naiayos ng ating mga provider, dumulog po kayo sa amin… Per incident na hindi sila nakasunod at napatunayan na sila po ang may sala, e P50,000 po yun. So malaki po yun,” he said.

In a joint statement released over the weekend, toll operators in the Philippines also expressed their commitment to continuously improve their systems to avoid any hitches.