TRB okays STAR toll increase on July 10

MANILA, Philippines - Toll fees at the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) tollway are set to increase on July 10.

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) said it had approved the toll fee hike sought by the Star Infrastructure Development Corp. due to additional works it made on the expressway which were requested by local government units in Batangas.

The TRB had allowed the tollway operator to impose higher fees effective June 30 but the company decided to defer implementation of the toll hike to July 10.

With the hike, toll fee for Class 1 vehicles for the whole stretch of the STAR tollway or from Santo Tomas to Batangas City will go from P55 to P60, P109 to P120 for Class 2 vehicles, and P164 to 179 for Class 3 vehicles.

The 42-kilometer long tollway was constructed under a build-operate-transfer contract between the government and SIDC and was envisioned to be an expressway linking Metro Manila to the port of Batangas.

The news of the toll fee hike at the STAR tollway came after Malacañang deferred plans to increase toll rates at the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

The Palace said it is up to the incoming administration to decide on the supposed toll hike, which is set to be opposed by public transport groups before the TRB.

Deferment welcomed

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), meantime, welcomed Malacañang’s postponement of the SLEX toll hike.

BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres said this would give affected parties more time to prepare for the adjustment, not only in the toll rates but also for the planned implementation of the value-added tax (VAT).

He also said that the concerned parties can just have a one-time adjustment to accommodate both the toll rate hike and the VAT rate increase.

“We would have wanted a one time adjustment,” Tan-Torres said.

He said this would give concerned parties such as the TRB the time to take into account all the necessary adjustments.

Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar has said that if the move to increase the toll rates by the South Luzon Toll Corp., which operates SLEX, was not part of any agreement with private investors, then deferring it would be possible.

“This (toll increase) does not appear to be urgent, so I would not be surprised that it would be deferred to the next administration, which will scrutinize the contract,” he earlier said.

President-elect Benigno Aquino III has vowed to review the impending toll increase when he assumes office on June 30.

The TRB earlier gave the South Luzon Toll Corp. the greenlight to hike the toll rates covering the Alabang-Calamba stretch of SLEX starting June 30.

Aside from the increase, the government would also be slapping the VAT.             – With Iris Gonzales