THE LONG queue at the Filinvest southbound exit that Rey Rito mentioned in his letter (“Southbound highways: Higher tolls, poorer service,” Inquirer, 5/17/11) was due to the rough surface of the roadway that slowed down vehicles. That roadway has already been smoothened by South Luzon Tollway Corp. (SLTC) and Manila Toll Expressways Systems Inc. (MATES), the investor and operator of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), respectively. Since then we have not observed any long queues.
Since the construction by SLTC/MATES of a new southbound entry toll plaza (right after the Filinvest plaza), there has been a need to segregate the northbound and southbound vehicles, by having northbound vehicles pass the Filinvest tunnel, and southbound vehicles pass above to the left of the tunnel. Otherwise, southbound vehicles will be overcharged by the system.
Rito is partly correct to say that security personnel are there to “scare potential holdup men of the daily SLEX collections.” Discouraging potential holdup men is important, not so much for our toll collections as these are insured anyway, but because, in the course of any holdup attempts, there is the risk that motorists like Rito, who might be in the area, could be taken hostage or even get hurt or shot in the process. The safety of our motorists in such situations is always our primordial concern, hence the need for security personnel.
Once, the Skyway’s plaza security personnel saved the life of a female jeepney rider who was being stabbed to death by a thief. They also apprehended the latter’s accomplices after chasing them on the nearby service road.
On another occasion, the Skyway security personnel, while assisting a vehicle that had overturned, discovered long firearms inside. They then chased and apprehended its fleeing occupants who turned out to be the core of a dreaded carnap syndicate.
Outside of performing occasional acts of heroism, our security personnel assist motorists with stalled vehicles and apprehend traffic violators as they exit at the plazas, among their other responsibilities. We firmly believe they are of value to us and our motorists.
—RAMON M. BORROMEO,
officer in charge,
Skyway O&M Corporation