Malacañang told motorists to stay away from the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) as flooding and gridlock persisted — while Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon offered a rather more generous idea: Stop charging them.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, however, appeared unimpressed. Castro said waiving tolls could simply invite more vehicles into an expressway already struggling to move the ones trapped on it.

“If you are already stranded there, why would you go in if there is traffic? For now, don’t pass through NLEX because if you cannot get through, what is the purpose of making it free?” Castro said.

In other words, a toll holiday might make the traffic cheaper without making it move any faster.

Dizon, meanwhile, would not back down. “It can be done,” Dizon said. “This is not the fault of our citizens, so they should not be the ones to carry that burden.”

He said the government could shoulder the cost of suspending toll collection, recalling that he had ordered NLEX to suspend tolls twice last year while he was Transportation secretary during repairs to the Marilao Bridge following road accidents.

Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was focused on easing the burden on stranded motorists rather than imposing sanctions on the tollway operator.

Flood wall

Dizon also proposed a more permanent solution: Building a flood wall along the portion of NLEX near Tulaoc Bridge in San Simon, Pampanga, where flooding has repeatedly brought traffic to a standstill.

“We are thinking of building a flood wall along NLEX,” Dizon said, adding that the engineering requirements still needed to be studied.

The proposed 200-meter structure would run along both sides of the affected section, with pumps installed to help manage floodwaters.

Dizon said he had discussed the proposal with Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and CEO Rogelio “Babes” Singson and NLEX officials.

For now, however, motorists have a simpler Palace prescription: Don’t enter NLEX.