Rule fining motorists without RFIDs, insufficient load deferred to Oct. 1

Metro Manila, Philippines — The new guidelines that would penalize motorists entering toll roads without Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and insufficient load balance have been postponed to Oct. 1, the Department of Transportation announced on Tuesday.

The directive was supposed to take effect on Saturday, Aug. 31.

In a press release, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the move seeks to give tollway operators time to “finetune expressway operations” and boost its public information campaign on the new guidelines.

The revised Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) 2024-001 was signed on Aug. 1 and was published on Aug. 16.

“These revised guidelines should significantly improve traffic along expressways through cashless or contactless toll plazas,” Bautista was quoted as saying in a press release.

The transportation chief also urged tollway users to comply with the new directive.

Under the revised rules, motorists entering toll roads with invalid RFIDs will be slapped with the following penalties:

+first offense - P1,000

+second offense - P2,000

+subsequent offenses - P5,000 per offense

The rule imposed a similar penalty for tampered and fake RFID devices.

Meanwhile, motorists with insufficient credit will pay these corresponding fines:

+first offense - P500

+second offense - P1,000

+subsequent offenses - P2,500 per offense