Motorists complaining about the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) found an ally in the Land Transportation Office (LTO) which said there are matters that need to be corrected in its implementation.
In a statement, LTO chief Teofilo Guadiz III then appealed to the local government units (LGUs) to consider suspending the NCAP implementation to give way to the conduct of a thorough review of the traffic policy.
NCAP has been the subject of criticisms especially in the social media and a number of motorists are calling the Quezon City government and other LGUs to further improve its implementation.
For instance, some motorists talk about the “traps” that would force drivers to commit violations while others discuss the confusing road signs that would end up drivers committing violations based on the NCAP guideline.
Guadiz sided with the motorists, adding that he also received complaints about operators of public utility vehicles being forced to pay the fines for traffic violations committed by their drivers.
“Under the law, those who pay the fine are the registered owners of the vehicles based on the presumption that they are the ones driving the vehicle and based on the principle of command responsibility,” said Guadiz.
“It seems that there are lapses in the policy that should be reviewed so that it would be the drivers, or the ones using the vehicles who would pay the fine. We will look into ways to ensure that drivers of the vehicles should suffer the consequences of violating traffic rules,” he added.
Another issue that Guadiz wants to study is if the vehicle is already sold to another individual, and the transfer of ownership is not yet registered with the LTO, and a violation of traffic rules was committed.
Guadiz disclosed that the LTO is only helping the LGUs and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in the implementation by sending an alert about the vehicle in violation while the LGUs draft the guidelines of NCAP.
But he said there is a need for all the implementing agencies to sit down and discuss the matter.
“I believe that the objective of the NCAP is noble, but it should first be fine-tuned for a stronger and more effective implementation in order to contribute to a smoother flow of traffic in Metro Manila,” said Guadiz.