Malolos City—Mayor Ambrosio “Boy” Cruz of Guiguinto, Bulacan has supported the clamor of two Bulacan lawmakers for an immediate audit of the financial statements of NLEX Corp., the concessionaire and operator of the North Luzon Expressway and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).
Cruz also appealed to the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and NLEX Corp. to revive and open the Tabe Exit in Barangay Tabe, Guiguinto, which was closed six years ago for allegedly not being commercially viable in terms of its toll collections.
“Barangay Tabe has now one of the biggest industrial complexes in our town, and its adjoining residential villages and commercial establishments account for more than 25 percent of our town’s income,” he said.
Cruz explained that if Tabe Exit would be opened again, the Ospital ng Guiguinto, just a kilometer away from the entry plaza, will become more accessible to villagers and residents living on the other side of the expressway.
“Primary health care and hospitalization for our town folks is a basic consideration. Second, we also need a service road along the perimeter fence of NLEX like those along SLEX in Paranaque, to hasten economic development in those barangays enclosed by the expressway,” the mayor said.
NLEX Corp., a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. is owned by Metro Pacific Corp., controlled by Manny Pangilinan.
In closing the Tabe exit, NLEX Corp. claimed that the toll plaza was constructed below par to the specifications of international highway standards.
Cruz said if NLEX can open an exit to provide easy access to the Philippine Arena inside the sprawling Iglesia ni Cristo-owned Ciudad de Victoria complex in Bocaue town, “the more reasons we can ask for the reopening of Tabe Exit, because this access road is for the general public and economic welfare and not merely for a specific class of our population.”
Last week, Senator Joel Villanueva and Bulacan 2nd District Rep. Gavino Pancho asked the Department of Public Works and Highways and the TRB to immediately explain to the public why even minor repairs and construction of additional exit and entry points along the highway will translate into an increase in toll fees.
“The representatives of these government agencies should explain to the motorists and the general public what policy they are pursuing. Who are they protecting? Is it the public or the concessionaires?” Villanueva asked.
Villanueva, whose sister is currently the mayor of Bocaue where Iglesia ni Cristo’s Ciudad de Victoria is located, was responding to a question why NLEX Corp. is charging additional toll fees to motorists exiting at the Philippine Arena, although that portion was originally part of the “Open System” or fixed-rate section being implemented at the expressway.
The senator shared the stand of Rep. Pancho, who requested the TRB to make an immediate audit and investigate if there’s a real basis for charging additional toll fees for the stretch covering the length from Balintawak in Quezon City to Tabang Exit in Guiguinto, Bulacan.
“Based on the provision of the renewed concession granted to NLEX management, it is allowed to increase its rate every three years, provided they are losing money in their operations. This is what we have to check and verify if there is basis because, as far as we know, NLEX Corp. is earning huge profits, billions of pesos every year,” Pancho said.
Formerly known as North Diversion Road and Manila North Expressway, NLEX was built in the early 1960s from Balintawak to Barangay Tabang in Guiguinto, where McArthur Highway – back then the main road going to the Central and Northern Luzon provinces — meets Maharlika Highway, which leads to Nueva Ecija, Isabela, and other provinces in Cagayan Valley.
Construction of the Balintawak to Tabang Exit was originally done by the DPWH, but was completed by the Construction Development Corp. of the Philippines (CDCP) and turned over to the government on August 4, 1968.
CDCP, then owned by Rudolfo Cuenca, continued its extension roadworks up to the Barangay Dau exit in Mabalacat, Pampanga, passing thru the Candaba viaduct in 1976.
Through massive loans from government banks during the Martial Law years, CPDP and the government-owned Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) started its toll operations in 1977 after it was granted a 30-year concession by then-President Ferdinand Marcos, or until 2007.
After the EDSA People Power revolt in 1986, Lopez Holdings Corp. (formerly Benpres Holdings Corp.) took control of the PNCC operations for almost two decades and renamed it the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC).
In 2005, two years before the expiration of its 30-year concession to manage the operations of the tollway, the Lopez family sold MNTC to the Metro Pacific group owned by Manuel V. Pangilinan.
Rep. Pancho pointed out that the financial statement of the Pangilinan-owned NLEX Corp. showed it has been earning billions of pesos since it took control of the expressway management 15 years ago.
“So, how can it justify and ask for additional increases when it is earning massively from the 300,000 vehicles daily traffic in both ways of NLEx?” Pancho asked.
“The TRB should re-investigate and revisit the concession agreement through a transparent audit of its financial statements. It’s clear in the contract that they have foreign investments to protect to be able to give this kind of service, but we must ensure that these provisions are not onerous and are justifiable, that’s why we have to investigate,” he added.