P1 increase in MCX toll rates OK’d

MANILA, Philippines — The government has authorized the Villar Group to proceed with the second round of the toll increase in the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX).

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) approved a P1 increase in the toll rates of the MCX, which is a follow-up to the initial hike implemented toward the end of 2023.

The adjustment will be implemented in February at the latest.

TRB executive director Alvin Carullo said the latest round of toll adjustment should be enforced either by the end of this month or start of February.

“The approval of the board was made last Jan. 5, but it failed to meet the submission requirement. Hopefully, we will implement it by the end of January or first week of February. It’s just P1,” Carullo said.

Last year, the TRB authorized the MCX to increase its toll rates.

The TRB said the fare adjustment should be divided into two rounds to mitigate the inflationary impact on consumers.

At the time, the TRB raised the MCX tolls to P18 for Class 1, P37 for Class 2 and P55 for Class 3 vehicles.

The MCX is managed by the Villar-owned Prime Asset Ventures Inc., which acquired the toll road for P3.8 billion and completed its acquisition from the Ayala Group in 2023.

The MCX is a four-kilometer expressway that links the Daang Hari and Daang Reyna in Las Piñas and Bacoor, Cavite, respectively, to Susana Heights in the South Luzon Expressway.

Recently, the TRB approved multiple petitions for toll increases in various toll roads.

Before 2023 ended, the TRB allowed San Miguel Corp. to increase the toll on the South Luzon Expressway, its first adjustment since 2011.

It also granted a petition for a toll increase at the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, but instructed the SCTex operator to implement the adjustment in three tranches over three years.