NCAP: MMDA warns motorists about P5,000 fine for covering plates

Fines will be imposed on motorists who cover their plate numbers to evade capture over their traffic violations under the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Thursday.

“We admire the Filipino ingenuity, pero I am warning them na ang penalty for this is 5,000 baka po magulat sila,” MMDA Traffic Enforcement Group director Vic Nuñez said in a press conference.

(We admire the Filipino ingenuity, but I am warning them that the penalty for this is 5,000, they will be shocked.)

Nuñez said a memo has been issued to field personnel to alert them about such violations of motorists.

“Violation po iyan ng Traffic Code at ang multa po niyan is P5,000. Baka po hindi alam ng ating mga kababayan na ang multa po niyan ay mahal. Marami kaming na-monitor sa CCTV na nilagyan ng electrical tape, nilagyan ng masking tape,” he added.

(This is a violation of the Traffic Code and the fine for it is P5,000. Maybe our countrymen don’t know that the fine for it is expensive. We have monitored many vehicles with plates covered in electrical and masking tapes.)

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.

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