Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año has expressed support to the position of the affected local government units (LGUs) to demand the North Luzon Expressway management to immediately fix its problematic Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system as this has taken a great toll on their economy due to the chaotic traffic mess it has caused in their localities.
In an interview over GMA News, Año cited the urgency for the LGUs and the North Luzon Expressway to discuss and map out plans to resolve the problem.

(PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Expressing his point further, Año noted that the concerned parties should come up with a common solution instead of imposing varying propositions that will certainly have adverse effects to the public.
The Valenzuela City government had earlier lashed out at the NLEX management for the inefficient cashless fee toll way collection in which various woes were prevalent that caused long queues of vehicles that lasted for several hours.
With its adverse effect on the economy, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian suspended the business permit of NLEX Corp., the operator of the NLEX, for its failure to immediately address the issues on the RFID system.
Several LGUs in Bulacan on NLEX are also reportedly planning to take action but Año believed that the possible actions of these localities would not drive away investors.
However, Año stressed the difficulty of imposing cashless transactions in the expressway on short notice, citing the difficulty of motorists to meet the deadline for the installation of the RFID stickers.
Several motorists condemned the NLEX management for its ineptness, stressing that their ordeal to line up to get the RFID sticker for a smoother and safer travel went for naught as the traffic situation was much better when booth clerks were collecting the toll fees.
Motorists have until Jan. 11 to have RFID tags installed on their vehicles, although many lawmakers, including Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, have been urging the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to extend the deadline.
Gatchalian will meet NLEX Corp. to try to resolve the RFID problem in Valenzuela but insisted that this does not automatically result in the lifting of the suspension of the corporation's business permit.