he timing of the
directive of Gloria Arroyo for the Toll Regulatory Board to cut the rates at the
North Expressway is terrible. The NLEX is operated by the Lopezes and forcing it
to cut rates could be seen as part of a grand plan to bring the family to its
knees.
The Lopezes are currently under attack for the abuses of
Manila Electric Co. The abuses are adequately documented. There's the
overcharging of consumers which led to no less than the Supreme Court ordering a
refund. There's the full payment for under-deliveries from power generating
plants owned by the Lopezes. There's the continuing accommodation under a
25-year supply agreement to the same plants even as the National Power Corp.
offers cheaper electricity.
These are valid issues against Meralco. But because of the
administration's thieving ways, there is the lingering suspicion that the drive
for reforms is only a cover for a hidden agenda, that of wresting control from
the Lopezes and awarding the country's biggest utility to Palace cronies.
This perception will only be reinforced by the order to lower
the NLEX toll rates. In truth, there's room for slashing the charges. The NLEX
posted a net of P1.9 billion from revenues of P5.483 billion in 2007. That's a
return on sales of 34.7 percent, a rate scandalous for a regulated business.
Still many users of NLEX do not mind paying the high rates
even if they regularly bitch about it. They get their money's worth. Which
cannot be said about the South Luzon Expressway, the motorists' only basis for
comparison in terms of convenience, travel time, savings in gasoline and wear
and tear of their vehicles and, not the least, safety.
Anybody who has traveled on the SLEX lately knows what we
mean. There are portions of that misnamed "expressway" which are virtual parking
lots during rush hours. Repairs and expansion which should have been done 20
years ago are only being undertaken now. The reason, of course, is the low toll
rates which prevented the government-owned Philippine National Construction
Corp. from modernizing the facility. The government has since attracted a new
strategic investor. But the damage has already been done, especially in terms of
opportunity losses.
The NLEX is just about the only success story in infrastructure building that
this administration can boast about during its term. Let's spare it from fatuous
"pa-pogi" in these economically trying times.
