Motorists using expressways without electronic toll collection (ETC) devices or with insufficient balance will face penalties soon as the Toll Regulatory Board finalizes guidelines for all expressway users.
The draft Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2024-001, titled “Revised Guidelines for All Vehicles Traveling on Toll Expressways,” mandates that owners or operators ensure their vehicles have an ETC device with a minimum balance before entering expressways and enough to cover the toll upon exiting.
Non-compliance herewith shall be subject to penalties,” the draft circular said.
Penalties for violations include:
No valid ETC device: P1,000 (first offense), P2,000 (second offense), P5,000 (subsequent);
Insufficient load: P500 (first offense), P1,000 (second offense), P2,500 (subsequent);
Fraudulent ETC: P1,000 (first offense), P2,000 (second offense), P5,000 (subsequent);
TRB executive director Alvin Carullo expects to finalize the guidelines by July 2024.
The draft memorandum also proposes that the Land Transportation Office (LTO) deputize expressway concessionaire traffic enforcers to implement the rules. Expressway operators will be required to install signage stating “No Valid ETC Device, No Entry” and “No Sufficient Load, No Entry” before toll plazas.
Vehicles exempted by law from toll, along with those designated by the TRB, will be exempt from these penalties. However, they will still be required to have an ETC device as mandated by TRB Memorandum Order No. 01-2020 and existing regulations.
The average penetration rate of ETC transactions across all tollways is 90 percent.
San Miguel Corp., which operates Skyway, South Luzon Expressway, STAR Tollway and NAIAx, uses AutoSweep RFID tag, while Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., which operates Manila Cavite Expressway, C5 Link Expressway and Cavite Laguna Expressway, uses EasyTrip RFID tag for electronic toll collection.
