Critics Condemn the TRB’s ‘Lies, Treachery and Betrayal’ in Hastily Approving 300% Toll-Fee Hikes

Critics Condemn the TRB’s ‘Lies, Treachery and Betrayal’ in Hastily Approving 300% Toll-Fee Hikes

“The TRB cannot even tell us how the toll rates were computed. What was the basis for the computation of the toll rates? These questions must be answered first before they raise the toll fees,” said Northern Samar governor Paul Daza, co-convenor of the TUTOL-SLEX.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Is the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) a Philippine government body or a tool of foreign contractors for “muscling its way into the pockets of ordinary taxpayers”? The TRB has incurred the wrath of Taxpayers’ Unity vs Toll Hike in SLEX (TUTOL-SLEX), an alliance of commuters, drivers, peoples’ organizations, businessmen, local government officials, neighborhood associations and other taxpayers. The board, they said, “hastily approved” this week the petition of the South Luzon Tollway Corporation (SLTC) for a 300% increase in toll rates.

Describing the said approval as “treachery”, and the TRB as “traitors to the interest of the public”, the group raised questions about the “lies” cited by the TRB as some of its bases for coming out with the approval. One of it was the supposed public hearings it had conducted.

“There was no public hearing,” Sammy Malunes, co-convenor of Tutol-SLEx, told Bulatlat.com during one of their protest actions. “We do not consider as genuine that so-called public hearing they conducted last Dec 10,” Malunes explained.

The TRB called for a public hearing in their head office last week, but, according to Tutol-SLEx, drivers’ and operators’ organization PISTON and other critics of the toll fee hikes, the public was not really invited because the TRB only announced it through a newspaper with minimal circulation.

The TRB published on December 8 in Manila Standard the SLTC’s proposed toll increases. Toll fees for class 1 vehicles will be raised to P77 ($1.74) from P22 ($0.50), Class 2 – P155 ($3.49) from P43 ($0.97) and Class 3 – P232 ($5.23) from P65 ($1.47). TRB spokesman Julius Corpus said in an interview that the published rates are not yet approved by the TRB pending the result of the public consultation..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2010/12/18/critics-condemn-the-trb%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98lies-treachery-and-betrayal%E2%80%99-in-hastily-approving-300-perent-toll-fee-hikes/