THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday ordered the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corporation to immediately suspend toll collection at the northbound Marilao segment following another incident involving an over-height container truck that struck the Marilao Interchange Bridge on Wednesday.
In a statement, the DOTr said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had instructed both the agency and the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to ensure motorists and commuters affected by the incident are compensated for the inconvenience, lost time, and exhaustion due to the heavy traffic that followed.
The DOTr emphasized that the toll holiday should remain in effect until all four lanes of the affected segment are fully passable.
The agency also urged NLEX Corp. to extend full assistance to the family of the 54-year-old passenger who died, as well as to the six others injured—including a two-year-old child—when a girder from the bridge collapsed and hit a vehicle behind the truck.
The DOTr demanded that NLEX Corp. explain what it described as a “seemingly lack of oversight” after a similar incident occurred just three months earlier.
NLEX Corp. has been given three working days from receipt of the order to submit a written explanation justifying why the DOTr should not impose administrative sanctions for failing to uphold safety obligations. These sanctions could include the suspension or modification of toll collection privileges.
“We ask for the understanding of our motorists and commuters regarding this incident. The agency is expediting repairs to restore the affected infrastructure and ease traffic flow in the area,” the DOTr added in Filipino.
