Agri truckers toll rebate comes into effect on Saturday

Agricultural truckers accredited by the Department of Agriculture (DA) will be eligible for toll rebates starting Saturday, June 1, 2024.

The Agri-Trucks Toll Rebate Program covers users of North Luzon Expressway  (NLEX), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway  (MCX), Subic-Clark Expressway (SCTEX), and Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (CAVITEX).

The program is seen to benefit 200 to  300 farm product-carrying trucks traversing expressways in both north and south Luzon. For those using SMC Tollways-operated toll roads, SMC  chief financial officer Raoul Romulo said the average rebate ranged from P2 to P30 depending on the class of vehicle.

For  MPTC-operated expressways, DA-accredited truckers could get a rebate of  P16 to P156, depending on the distance and vehicle class.

The program was launched by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), the Department of  Finance, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of  Agriculture along with Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and SMC  Tollways.

As it aims to ease the inflationary impact of toll fees on agricultural commodities, truckers shall receive rebates equivalent to toll hikes implemented from June 2023.

“The  total passages you do for 1 week, isusuma total po ‘yun at ico-compute  ‘yung rebate. Within 3 days ibabalik ‘yun sa load ninyo sa RFID,” said  TRB spokesperson Julius Corpuz in a 24 Oras Weekend interview.

The Department of Finance said the program also aims to lower the cost of production to lower the prices of commodities.

“The rationale for implementing these measures is to protect the welfare of the general public by preventing second-round effects of a toll rate increase on food inflation and thereby ensuring stability in food prices and minimizing the impact of tolerating the increase on the over-all inflation,” said DOF Assistant Secretary Eufrocino Bernabe Jr.

The rebate program will initially run for three months and be subject to review for possible extension, depending on the inflationary situation,  according to TRB Executive Director Alvin Carullo.

To qualify for the rebate program, truckers should be duly accredited by the DA and should have valid Autosweep and/or Easytrip  RFID accounts.

The enrollment process is as follows:

• Register RFID Account:
• For Easytrip RFID account holders (NLEX, SCTEX and CAVITEX users),  visit: NLEX Balintawak Customer Service Center, CAVITEX Parañaque  Customer Service Center
• For Autosweep RFID account holders  (SLEX and MCX users), visit C5 Office, Petron Commerce, Petron KM 44  Northbound, Calamba Customer Service Center, SLEX Greenfields,  Southwoods Northbound, Southwoods Southbound, Sta. Rosa Northbound, Sta. Rosa Southbound, Star Toll Lipa Customer Service Center, Tarlac  Customer Service Center

The requirements to be submitted/presented were:

• Original Department of Agriculture (DA) accreditation certificate
• Copy of the vehicle’s OR/CR (Official Receipt/Certificate of Registration)
• Valid ID
• Easytrip/Autosweep card
• Fill out the Agricultural Trucks Toll Fee Increase Exemption Form provided by the Customer Service Center personnel

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP), which has over 10,000 units operating in Manila, had yet to be accredited by the DA.

CTAP was thus seeking a meeting with the DA to clarify matters over the rebate program. — Sherylin Untalan/DVM, GMA Integrated News