MMDA data: Violations declining since NCAP resumption

The total number of apprehended traffic violations has been declining since the resumption of the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP), according to the data of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) released on Thursday.

From around 3,000 violations usually monitored in a day, the number decreased to 1,112 on the first day of the NCAP resumption on Monday.

This number further dropped to 952 on Tuesday and 797 on Wednesday.

NCAP is a policy that uses closed-circuit television, digital cameras and/or other gadgets or technology to capture videos and images to apprehend vehicles violating traffic laws instead of traffic enforcers on the ground.

Under the policy, violators can pay fines later online or at the MMDA office. They can also contest their supposed violations caught under NCAP.

MMDA chairperson Romando Artes has said that violations caught under the NCAP will be manually reviewed by its personnel before issuing tickets.

The implementation of NCAP resumed after the Supreme Court (SC) partially lifted the temporary restraining order (TRO) against the policy, allowing only the MMDA to implement the program.

In August 2022, the SC issued the TRO against NCAP being implemented by some local government units in Metro Manila.

The order came after transport groups Kapit, Pasang Masda, Altodap, and the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations filed a petition against local ordinances related to the NCAP in five cities including Manila, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, and Parañaque.

One of the contested aspects of the NCAP involves the payment of fines, in which the registered owners, not the drivers, of public and private vehicles are the ones who are asked to pay for the penalties.

Transport groups also described the policy as unconstitutional. —VAL, GMA Integrated News