HINDI maliligtasan ng Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) ang sisi sa gitna ng mga kaguluhan sa implementasyon ng cashless payment scheme sa tollways.

Ito ang binigyang-diin ni Senate Committee on Public Services chairperson Grace Poe sa pagdinig sa isyu ng RFID.

“The Toll Regulatory Board, as the primary regulator of toll operators, cannot escape the blame. It seems to me that the TRB has been content to do two things and nothing else: raise toll rates and collect fees,” saad ni Poe.

“Truth be told, TRB can’t even do its job of collecting toll fees that well,” dagdag pa nito.

Sinabi ni Poe na batay sa audit reports ng Commission on Audit, bigo ang TRB na makolekta ang “toll fees” na umaabot sa P1 bilyon sa nakalipas na dalawang taon.
Kabilang dito ang P44.24 milyon noong 2017 at P859.94 milyon noong 2019.

Pinuna rin ni Poe ang governing board ng TRB na karamihan ay ex-officio Cabinet secretaries na may mas marami pang ibang gawain.
“The future of the TRB is another issue which must be resolved during this hearing,” diin ni Poe.

“The backlash in this implementation of the electronic toll collection system reminded those in public service about the importance of careful planning and thorough preparation. It also exposed the tendency of some government agencies to yield to what seems like ‘trial and error’ when it comes to implementing new policies,” dagdag ng senador. (DANG SAMSON-GARCIA)