Macalintal prods DOTR on toll discount for SCS, PWDS

THE Department of Transportation ( DOTR) and the Tol l Reg u l ator y Boa rd ( TRB) should immediately implement the law granting 20- percent toll discount to persons with disability ( PWDS) and senior citizens (SCS) on skyways and expressways since the use and installation of radio frequency identification ( RFID) in all toll lanes had been mandated by the DOTR effective November 2, lawyer and advocate Romulo B. Macalintal said.

In a letter dated September 28, 2020, to DOTR Secretary and TRB Chairman Arthur P. Tugade which his office received on the same date, Macalintal requested for the immediate implementation of the law by issuing the corresponding circulars and directives to all toll operators in the country as mandated by the law.

According to him, Section 6.6, Rule 4 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations ( IRR) of RA 9442, the Magna Carta for PWDS clearly provides that PWDS shall be entitled to “at least 20- percent discount on toll fees of skyways and expressways” provided the vehicle is registered in their names as owners thereof. The same provision directs the DOTR and the TRB to issue the corresponding directives to toll operators for the implementation of the said privilege of PWDS.

The senior citizens are similarly situated with the PWDS. Article 7 of the IRR of RA 9994, Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, provides that the SCS are entitled to 20- percent discount on public land transportation. Toll operators should therefore likewise grant such discount to SCS provided the vehicle on which the RFID is installed is registered in the name of that elderly person. The 20- percent discount on RFID for the SCS is pursuant to the “important role of the private sector in the improvement of welfare of senior citizens and to actively seek their partnership [ Section 2( f ), RA 9994],” he said, adding that the objective of the law is to “establish a program beneficial to the senior citizens, their families and the rest of the community they serve” ( Section 2, par 4[3], RA 9994).

The toll operators will not be greatly affected by the grant of the said 20- percent discount to PWDS and SCS since only a fraction of these sectors have vehicles registered in their names, Macalintal said. Furthermore, the toll operators may claim the discounts as “tax deductions” as provided for by law. Violation of the law carries with it criminal and civil liabilities; and if the violator is a corporation, the officials thereof shall be the ones liable. Penalties are fine and one to two years’ imprisonment, said Macalintal.

He suggested that the discount be deducted from the total amount of RFID load or be added to the load he is credited with. For example, if the SC or PWD loads P1,000, he either gets the P200 discount, or the P200 may be added to the total amount of load he buys, in which case his total load will amount to P1,200. To avail of such discount the SCS or PWDS shall be required to present the original copy of their car registration showing them as owners thereof and, for the SC, any original copy of government- issued ID which shows the SC’S date of birth; for the PWDS, the original copy of their PWD ID, copies of which will be retained by the toll operators.