MANILA - The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has announced a postponement of new tollway guidelines originally set to commence on August 31. The new implementation date is now October 1. According to DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, this deferment will allow toll operators an additional month to refine their expressway operations.

According to Philippines News Agency, the delay in implementing the guidelines outlined in Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) no. 2024-01—signed on August 1 by Bautista, Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II, and Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) Executive Director Alvin Carullo—is intended to give agencies and tollway operators time to enhance expressway operations and boost public awareness campaigns. This would help ensure compliance with the new guidelines once they become effective. The JMC aims to enforce penalties for the absence of electronic toll collection (ETC) devices or insufficient radio frequency identification (RFID) load balance and to enhance the deputization of tollway enforcers by the LTO.

DOTr Secretary Bautista expressed optimism that the revised guidelines would significantly ease traffic flow along expressways by promoting cashless or contactless toll transactions. In a discussion on the radio program Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, TRB spokesperson Julius Corpuz elaborated that the updated guidelines are designed to facilitate smooth and rapid transactions at toll plazas, especially in ETC lanes. Under the new system, vehicles lacking RFID or sufficient RFID balance will be prohibited from using RFID lanes and will face penalties.

Corpuz also noted that approximately 90 percent of motorists currently use RFIDs, while the remaining 10 percent do not. The TRB has been enforcing a policy since 2021 that restricts cash transactions to a single exit lane at toll plazas, in line with a previous directive from the DOTr.