Cavite Infrastructure Corporation (CIC) Announces 30-Day Toll Holiday on Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX)
The Cavite Infrastructure Corporation (CIC) has announced that all exits of the Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) will not charge tolls for 30 days. This is to help people who are struggling financially with rising prices of fuel and other goods and services. The statement was made by Raul L. Ignacio, President and General Manager of CIC. It was fully supported by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
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| CAVITEX Is Toll-Free This July |
The tolls were put on hold because President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. suggested a time when there would be no tolls during the recent launch of the CAVITEX C5 Link Segment 2. The TRB made its decision after having a lot of talks and meetings with the Cavite Expressway's partners, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and CIC.
It was Ignacio who praised the TRB for making a good decision. He said, "We welcome the TRB's policy and operational decision, guided by the President's overarching directive—which was decided after taking into account all the necessary implementation details and system preparations."
All parts of the tollway will not charge tolls, including the exits at Kawit and Paranaque, the C5 Link between Merville and Taguig, and the brand-new Segment 2 (Sucat Interchange). Even though the toll income loss is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of pesos, CIC still supports the decision because they know that drivers need help during these tough times.
Even though there was initial criticism for the delay in issuing the toll suspension directive, Ignacio praised TRB's thorough approach and emphasized the need for careful decision-making in important policy issues.
As the private developer, builder, and financier of CAVITEX, CIC worked under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) deal with the Philippine Reclamation Authority. They stressed how important it was for joint venture partners to talk to each other first in order to keep goodwill and get good results.
Experts in the field have stressed how important it is for regulators like the TRB to make sure that PPP investment agreements last and to look out for everyone's best interests, especially drivers and customers who will benefit from the partnership.
