Calling the memorandum an insult to the Philippine money system, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) has urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to direct the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to recall or scrap its order penalizing motorists paying cash on tollways beginning Aug. 31.
The Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) 2024-001 directs that “motorists without a valid RFID, including those with dilapidated RFIDs, will be slapped with a ‘No Valid ETC (electronic toll collection) Device’ violation, with a PHP 1,000 fine for the first offense, PHP 2,000 fine for the second offense, and PHP 5,000 for the third and subsequent offenses.”
For motorists with insufficient balance, toll authorities would penalize them with PHP 500 fine for the first offense, PHP 1,000 fine for the second offense, and 2,500 for the third and subsequent offenses of insufficient RFID load.
Atty. Sonny Matula, FFW president, questioned why it was punishable to pay in cash whenever there was insufficient RFID load or in cases when motorists have no RFID.
DISREGARDS PHL MONEY SYSTEM
“This memo is an ultra vires act—it amends our laws on legal tender, disregarding the integrity and reliability of our money system recognizing the Philippine pesos as the legal tender in the country—cash issued by the Central Bank shall be accepted for all payments of debts or obligations, in time of peace or war, in byways, highways or tollways, in mega malls or sari-sari stores,” Matula said.
He added that the “policy is not only punitive but also discriminatory, especially towards provincianos who may not frequently use tollways or only travel to the metropolis once in a blue moon.”
The FFW stressed that “penalizing the use of Philippine pesos for payment of toll fees at the entrance or exit of tollways in case of insufficient load or lack of RFID may result in legal consequences, as it is a violation of the laws governing legal tender.”
EXCESSIVE FINES
Many workers, even if they own cars or motorcycles, choose public transportation options like buses or jeepneys to manage expenses. Imposing heavy fines for forgetting to load RFID accounts when they use their vehicles—penalties that could amount to about a day (₱500) to about ten days (₱5,000) of minimum wage earnings—is unreasonable and unfairly burdensome, the FFW explained.
Jun Mendoza Ramirez, FFW Vice President and union president of the Vishay Philippines Employees Union-FFW, likewise said that the TRB memo penalizes practicality, stressing that “motorists who use their vehicles sparingly to save money should not be punished for occasionally forgetting to load their RFID. These fines are excessive and add to the financial struggles of ordinary Filipinos, particularly those from the provinces who rarely travel to urban areas.”
“Turning cash payments into a punishable offense at tollways can indeed be perceived as a highway robbery. This taking does not only undermine the rights of citizens but also totally disregards the legal status of cash as an accepted form of payment,” Ramirez said.
FFW urged the TRB not to eliminate the payment option of cash, to accommodate those who do not use tollways regularly or those who forget to load.
“Provincianos and other occasional tollway users should not be forced into adopting RFID systems when they rarely use these roads,” Ramirez who came from the province of Pangasinan concluded.
