THE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday sought the participation of more tollway operators in a rebate program to reduce transport costs for goods and help contain food inflation.
Agriculture Undersecretary Arrey Perez said the agency was awaiting confirmation from San Miguel Corp. and other tollway operators, including those associated with the Villar group.
The DA first approached toll operators in September through the Department of Transportation and the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to seek toll holidays for agricultural truckers.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has since reinstated toll rebates across its network, covering qualified trucks from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30.
Perez said MPTC confirmed the rebates in an Oct. 9 letter to the TRB through NLEX Corp., Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. and MPTC subsidiary MPCALA Holdings Inc.
Qualified trucks pay the regular toll, with rebates estimated at 7 to 8 percent later credited to their radio frequency identification (RFID) accounts. Rebate credits were already being applied as of Oct. 8.
The program could lower the cost of transporting agricultural goods, although its benefits will depend on eligibility requirements, accurate registration and timely crediting.
MPTC said its participation supported government efforts to help ease the fuel crisis. It nevertheless raised concerns about the rebates’ impact on revenues and concession obligations and reserved its contractual rights.
Perez said the DA was updating its registry of agricultural truckers and delivery vehicles to ensure that only qualified operators receive rebates.
Operators must update their information before the DA submits its verified list to the TRB, he added.
Expanding the program to other tollway networks would allow more agricultural truckers to benefit, Perez said.
