President Ferdinand R. Marcos (PCO file photo)
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday announced a 30-day suspension of toll fee collection for vehicles passing through the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex).
In a statement posted on social media, Marcos said the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has approved the recommendation of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), the operator of Cavitex, for the month-long toll holiday in the expressway from July 1 to July 30.
The TRB is the governing body overseeing tollways nationwide.
“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa TRB sa kanilang agarang aksyon sa rekomendasyon na ito ng PRA (We thank the TRB for their prompt action on this recommendation of the PRA),” Marcos said.
“Nagpapasalamat din tayo sa MVP Group sa pagsuporta sa panukalang ito (We also thank the MVP Group for supporting this proposal),” he added.
Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC), which maintains the expressway, is a unit of the Manny Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
The toll holiday is also subject to two months extension, depending on the decision of the TRB and the Public Estates Authority Tollway Corporation (PEATC) – a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).
In a phone interview, PEATC spokesperson Ariel Inton said CAVITEX is “100 percent owned” by the government and that the decision on the toll holiday and its possible extension rests entirely on the government and not CIC.
“Ang Cavitex ay ang nag-iisang tollways na 100 percent pag-aari ng pamahalaan. Ang Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation naman ang in-charge sa infrastructure development at financing (CAVITEX is the only 100 percent-owned tollway of the government. The CIC, on the other hand, is in-charge of infrastructure development and financing),” Inton said.
“Bagamat kinikilala ng administrasyon ang kahalagahan ng private sector sa mga proyekto na kasama ng pamahalaan, interes pa rin ng taongbayan ang una sa puso ni BBM (While the administration recognizes the importance of the private sector in government projects, it is the public’s interests that is at the heart of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.),” he said.
The PEATC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PRA tasked with the operations and maintenance obligations of the PRA, specifically to manage, operate, monitor, and maintain and repair Cavitex.
The GOCC is designated to collect toll fees that will then be distributed to PRA and its joint venture partner CIC by the sharing arrangement in their joint venture agreement and toll operations agreement.
During the inauguration of new Cavitex segments last week, the President said the toll holiday will help motorists mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs.
The 1.9-kilometer expressway connects Cavitex Radial Road 1 from the Parañaque Toll Plaza to the Sucat Interchange and is expected to benefit around 23,000 vehicles a day. (With a report from Raymond Carl dela Cruz/PNA)
