President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. inaugurates the first section of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Connector from Caloocan to España in a program at the toll plaza located between the cities of Caloocan and Manila on March 27, 2023. Alfred Frias, PNA

MANILA (UPDATE) -- Motorists who have no RFID stickers or who do not have enough RFID load at toll gates will be fined starting August 31, the Toll Regulatory Board said.

In a statement, the TRB said that its Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2024-001 with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) was signed on August 1.

The memo specifies that motorists must apply for an electronic toll collection device like an RFID tag, attach it to their vehicles, and ensure that their accounts have enough balance to pay for their toll fees. 

Entering a tollway without an RFID sticker shall be fined P1,000 for the first offense, P2,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 for succeeding offenses. 

Meanwhile, leaving the toll expressway with not enough balance to pay your fees will be fined P500 for the first offense, P1,000 for the second offense, and P2,500 for the succeeding offenses.  

The TRB said the memo hopes to improve traffic flow at toll plazas, thereby helping motorists save time, money, and resources.

The TRB said those who don't have RFID tags or sufficient load balance make up 9 percent of the total number of motorists passing through tollways. 

The remaining 91 percent are compliant "and are often greatly inconvenienced by the erring motorists," the TRB said.

“Yun pong paminsan-minsan may pangyayari na may motorista na may RFID pumapasok sa ETC lanes, wala naman pong sufficient loads yung kanilang RFID, minsan wala silang RFID at all so nagbabagal po at ang naantala itong majority of ETC subscribers na responsable sa paggamit ng RFID,” said TRB spokesperson Julius Corpuz. 

(Sometimes motorists enter electronic toll collection lanes without sufficient load in their RFID. Some even don’t have RFID. So it slows down and bothers those who have enough load on their RFID and are responsible.)

Corpuz also said that this is in preparation for their transition to cashless transactions, which the agency hopes to start by October this year.

“Ang objective is to promote responsible use and ma-encourage ang proper use ng RFID subscribers sa expressways. Target po kasi namin na ipatupad na by October 31 yung ating cashless transaction,” he said.

(Our objective is to promote responsible use and encourage the proper use of RFID along our expressways. We want to implement cashless transactions by October 31.)

The official clarified that motorists who have no RFID tags or do not have enough load will still be allowed to pass through expressways. 

“Makakadaan pa rin po siya, pero kung merong marshal doon or deputized traffic enforcer doon, right there and then i-isyuhan po siya ng show cause order at titingnan kung maaring mabigyan siya ng pagkakataon na i-refute yung kanyang violation - so puwede pa naman po kaya lang he might be issued a citation ticket or yung SCO ( show cause order),” Corpuz explained. 

(They can still pass through, but if there is a marshal or deputized traffic enforcer there, right there and then they will be issued a show-cause order. We will see if they can be given a chance to refute their violation—so this can be changed but he might be issued a citation ticket or show-cause order.) 

DISCRIMINATORY? 

Meanwhile, the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) believes that the joint memorandum circular is discriminatory to those who don’t have RFID stickers.

“Talagang may discrimination yun kasi hindi ka magpapapasok pag wala kang RFID eh diba - may discrimination talaga," said AAP president Joe Ferreria. 

However, he also said that the intention of the program is good, and he encouraged motorists to just get RFID stickers to avoid the hassle at expressways.

“Yung gastos mo pareho din naman eh, kung wala kang RFID magbabayad ka ng toll- yun din ang bayad mo eh, libre naman eh,” Ferreria told ABS-CBN News 

(The spending is the same—if you have no RFID you’ll still pay the toll.) 

Ferreria said the memo will force those who have no RFID tags to use local roads. 

This will be a challenge for local government units (LGUs), Ferreria said.

“Ang tanong na mabigat dyan is - handa ba yung local government. Handa ba silang tanggapin yung dadagdag na dami ng sasakyan sa lugar nila?” Ferreria explained. 

(The important question here is: are local governments ready? Are they ready to receive the volume of vehicles that will enter their area?)

LTO warns expressway users without license plates

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