Valenzuela City Mayor Wes Gatchalian said on Monday, Aug. 15, that the local government has seen the positive effects of the implementation of the No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) in the city as it instills discipline among motorists.
“Sa aming pagaaral, siyempre sa umpisa, medyo maraming nagagalit. Siyempre, in all changes naman talaga pong hindi maiwasan ang mga pagtutol ng tao. But as we go along, to date, nakita ho namin ang malaking pagbabago sa kultura ng mga motorist na mga kababayan ko dito sa Valenzuela (Based on our study, of course, in the beginning, there were resistance and some who got angry. Of course, with all changes, the people’s aversion cannot be avoided. But as we go along, to date, we have seen a big change in the culture of the motorists here in Valenzuela),” Gatchalian said in an interview with DZBB Super Radyo.
“Lalo silang maingat, alam nila kung may CCTV (closed-circuit television cameras), at saka may marker naman kami ho eh na NCAP is prevailing and ongoing in operation. Eh lalo hong nagiging mas maingat ang pagmamaneho ng motorists. Ang actually nahuhuli kadalasan sa amin ay yung hindi taga Valenzuela (They became extra careful, they know if there is CCTV, and then we have a marker that says NCAP is prevailing and the operation is ongoing. Motorists are more careful. Actually, the ones who are usually apprehended here are those who are not from Valenzuela),” he added.
The mayor said the program also prevents traffic enforcers from engaging in corruption such as “kotong” or bribery as there are no human interventions required under the technologically-driven program.
There are also photos and video evidence of the traffic violations which are caught by the high-definition CCTV cameras placed along the city’s roads.
Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Teofilo Guadiz III had earlier appealed to the local government units which are implementing NCAP in their cities to suspend it for a thorough review of the policy.
The LTO chief said that he received reports that public utility vehicle operators were the ones forced to settle the penalties instead of the drivers who actually committed the road violations.
The mayor said that in some of the hearings for NCAP violations, they learned that some of the drivers leave or resign from their associations after committing their violations, thus leaving it to the operators to shoulder the penalties.
Gatchalian said the LTO should create a uniform guideline to be followed by all the cities.
He added that the city has an adjudication committee that listens to issues and problems related to NCAP.
Gatchalian said city authorities already apprehended around 200,000 violators who are mostly non-residents of Valenzuela since the program was launched in the city in 2019.
He said 70 percent of the penalties collected were given to their private partner which invented the programs and software used, supplied the CCTV cameras, and sponsored the bike lane markings, while the 30 percent was allotted for residents who need to undergo kidney dialysis.
He is also checking the possibility of using the collected fines to help the families of traffic enforcers who are always exposed to the elements and accidents on the road.
The mayor said the NCAP is currently being implemented only along McArthur Highway while around 400 enforcers are deployed in the city to manage the traffic.