By Luis S. Renon

Magandang araw, Team NLEX!

What a joy to celebrate this season with all of you after a year of challenges and triumphs. Remember this year: we have two bridge hits – one in March 2025, my very 1^st day as your OIC of NLEX, and the other one in June 2025 (with fatality). Then in July 2025, there’s this habagat in NLEX – binaha ang ating expressway kasama ang buong Valenzuela. Siguro halos lahat tayo sa operations naranasan ang hindi matulog: ang ating mga patrols, traffic management, kahera, technology, ops team, at ang ating mga engineers (AMD at TDE). May iba na literally lumusong sa baha para tumulong, magbigay ng pagkain at tubig na maiinom. Yung iba sa atin hindi nakauwi, hindi nakakain noong trahedya na iyon.

Even ang ating legal team, coms team, HR, supply chain and finance and all support team – we are all under stress at that time. Pero nalusutan natin lahat yan at hindi lang basta nalusutan kung hindi naging kaibigan din natin ang mga taong sobrang nagalit sa atin – dahil during those times, tinulungan natin sila, hindi natin sila tinalikuran na kahit hindi natin ito responsibilidad ay ipinakita natin that NLEX cares. Tinulungan nyo sila team NLEX – maraming salamat sa inyo.

Today is more than a party—it’s a moment to honor the heart of NLEX: YOU.

Because of your dedication and tunay na malasakit, we mend our relations with government and stakeholders. We also improved the way we work as a team, our toll roads operations, and our traffic management: may mga bago tayong patrol vehicles, mga bagong motorcyles, meron tayong truck lanes at mga mas desiplinadong truck drivers. Pinayagan tayo ng MPTC management at ng ating Chairman, Boss MVP to spend and buy those that we need because they trust NLEX team!  

As we close the year 2025, we will deliver strong results and, more importantly, meaningful experiences for our motorists. Every smile at the toll roads, every safe journey, every quick response—that’s the true measure of our success.

From our patrols and traffic teams, to toll ops, engineers, and support groups—you are the reason our customers feel cared for – every day. Kayo ang daan sa tagumpay nating lahat.

As we celebrate, let’s remember: our mission is service. Our primordial duty is to serve the motorists. We still have a lot of things to do and deliver. And we must act with urgency. Next year, we will have another round of toll increase: motorists will not be happy, we will be on social media, people will be swearing at us. We need to focus on what is ahead of us: give our motoring public what they deserved – safe and convenient travel experience.

In 2026, NLEX Team will make our tollways safer and more convenient:

• We will build higher bridges: upgrade Marilao bridge, Suclaban and Burol Bridges. There will be no more bridge hit!
• We will build Candaba Southbound Viaduct and rehabilitate the old bridges like San Matias. Safety is our priority!
• We will expand and add additional lanes: Southbound and Northbound from our Harbor Link cloverleaf (Smart Connect) all the way to Marilao.
• We will add more exit ramps: in Valenzuela, Meycauyan and Marilao.
• We will make our TSFs (service facilities like Drive & Dine) world class like hotels. We will organize a new team to handle this.

NLEX will not let another bridge hit to happen (we should raise them)!

NLEX will make our tollroads weatherproof so our motorists will not get stranded, and cook rice and noodles on their vehicles, because they got stucked due to floods in our expressway. NLEX Team will make sure that those incidents will not happen anymore.

NLEX Team will engage our government and stakeholders to support us with those initiatives, for the safety and convenience of motoring public, and –eventually extend our concession up to 2057 (I hope nandito pa kayo by that time – kung wala na kayo, it will be your legacy).

With all of you, my dear colleagues, and the support from MPTC and our Chairman MVP, NLEX will keep making every trip safer, smoother, and happier for our motorists.

Thank you. Merry Christmas. And cheers to a brighter and stronger NLEX in 2026.