Toll Regulatory Board

Paolo Duterte’s lawyer Carullo is new TRB chief

Aika Rey

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Paolo Duterte’s lawyer Carullo is new TRB chief

NEW HEAD. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade meets with new Toll Regulatory Board Executive Director Alvin Carullo.

Photo from the Department of Transportation's Facebook page

New Toll Regulatory Board Executive Director Alvin Carullo enters the agency as it implements the transition to cashless payments in tollways

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed lawyer Alvin Carullo as the new executive director of the Toll Regulatory Board.

Carullo was at a Senate hearing in September 2017, when the then Davao City vice mayor, now Representative Paolo Duterte, was accused by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV of being a part of a “triad” or an organized crime group involved in smuggling.

Carullo was also among the lawyers of the president’s son when the latter asked a Davao court in 2019 to cancel the bail of Trillanes.

On Tuesday, March 30, the Department of Transportation announced Carullo’s appointment as the new executive director of the TRB. The president’s appointment of Carullo was effective March 15.

Carullo enters the TRB as the agency implements the transition to the radio-frequency identification (RFID) scheme for cashless payments at expressways.

In the statement, the TRB said that Carullo intended to “expedite the construction, development, and completion” of the toll road projects in the country.

Carullo also said he planned to “take a look” at pending applications by toll operators for rate increases.

“Toll rates should not be too low as to be confiscatory nor so high as to be oppressive,” Carullo said.

Carullo was a consultant for the toll board for almost 3 years, which gives him, as TRB Spokesperson Julius Corpuz said, “the familiarity about the toll road industry.”

Corpuz said that Carullo provided legal advise on the widening of the South Luzon Expressway and its rehabilitation, among other projects, when he was a consultant.

Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Libiran said that former ED Abraham Sales, who received public backlash due to the messy implementation of cashless transactions, apparently resigned in January.

In December, Duterte blamed the TRB for the mess, slamming the officials for their “incompetence.” – Rappler.com

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Aika Rey

Aika Rey is a business reporter for Rappler. She covered the Senate of the Philippines before fully diving into numbers and companies. Got tips? Find her on Twitter at @reyaika or shoot her an email at aika.rey@rappler.com.