THE local government units (LGUs) where the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) is located want additional seats in the Local Toll Regulatory Council (LTRC) for efficient and effective management of the bridge.
Cebu City Councilor Rey Gealon is pushing for an amendment of the ordinance establishing the LRTC, augmenting the number of representatives from the two LGUs and increasing the current five-member council to seven.
The existing LRTC is composed of one member each from the Cebu City Government and Municipality of Cordova, and three from the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corp. (CCLEC).
Gealon, in his draft amendatory ordinance submitted to the City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, proposed that one more seat be given for a representative from the Cebu City Government.
Gealon’s proposal came after the Cordova Municipal Council also amended its own ordinance, modifying its composition to the council and pushing for proper representations from the Cebu Provincial Government.
With Gealon’s proposal, LTRC would be composed of two representatives each from Cebu City and Cordova, two from Cebu Province, while the CCLEC representation will be reduced to one.
The draft ordinance also stipulates that four members of the LTRC should be Filipino citizens, must be experts in the fields of engineering, commerce, finance, law, and tax, while the last member must come from the transportation sector.
Governor’s push
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has also pushed for the Provincial Government to be included in the LTRC, considering that majority of the motorists traversing the CCLEX are from the province.
Garcia had earlier expressed this during her meeting with CCLEC president and general manager Allan Alfon, Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, and Cordova Vice Mayor Victor Tago last Oct. 21.
In a report from the Provincial Government Public Information Office, Alfon replied that CCLEC is committed to work with the Province.
The LTRC members are tasked to implement a toll-rate setting function, impose fair and reasonable fees, allow the recovery of construction costs, operations, and maintenance, monitor compliance of regulations, effectively manage the toll road, and provide a safe and reliable transport infrastructure to the public.
The amendment came after the CCLEC sought LTRC’s approval for the adjustment of the toll fee for 2025.
CCLEC earlier said the proposed increase was an inflationary toll adjustment, citing the need to maintain high operational standards of the 8.9-kilometer bridge.
The governor, in the same meeting, urged Alfon to defer the toll hike until the new members of the LTRC participate in the decision-making process.
CCLEC has proposed to increase the existing P90 toll for Class 1 vehicles to P107; P214 from P180 for Class 2 vehicles; and Class 3 vehicles will have an increase from P270 to P321.
There will also be a P65 increase from P60 for Class 1M vehicles or motorcycles.
The CCLEX is under a Public-Private Partnership between the CCLEC, Cebu City Government, and the Municipality of Cordova. / EHP