The majority floor leader of the Muntinlupa City Council said they will inform the Supreme Court that the No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) ordinance has not been implemented in the city.
“We have not implemented the NCAP in Muntinlupa City and we shall make this manifestation before the Supreme Court in the case filed questioning the constitutionality of the ordinance,” Majority Floor Leader Raul Corro told Manila Bulletin on Aug. 17.
The Supreme Court ordered the local governments of Muntinlupa, Quezon City, Manila, Valenzuela, and Parañaque to comment on a petition filed by transport groups that questioned the constitutionality of their NCAP ordinances.
The transport groups that filed the petition are the Kilusan sa Pagbabago ng Industriya ng Transportasyon Inc. (KAPIT), Pangkalahatang Saggunian Manila and Suburbs Drivers Association Nationwide (Pasang-Masda), Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), and Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO).
“All laws and ordinances can be questioned in court. That is how our system works,” said Corro.
On Aug. 16, Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon tweeted that “Muntinlupa City has not yet implemented NCAP, even though the previous administration entered into the contract. Also, I have not given any statement yet on whether we will implement it or not.”
“If there’s something that is highlighted in the petition against NCAP, it’s the need to modernize the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, RA 4136, which has largely remained the same since its passage in 1964,” the mayor added in another post on Twitter.
The Muntinlupa City Council passed Ordinance 2021-280 or the “No Contact Apprehension Program Ordinance of the City of Muntinlupa" in October 2021 but it has not been implemented in the city to date.
In crafting the ordinance, the Muntinlupa City Council cited Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, which states that "Every local government unit shall exercise the powers expressly granted, those necessarily implied therefrom, as well as powers necessary, appropriate, or incidental for its efficient and effective governance. and those which are essential to the promotion of the general welfare. Within their respective territorial jurisdictions, local government units shall ensure and support, among other things, XXX preserve the comfort and convenience of their inhabitants."
The ordinance stated that “Section 458 (5) (vi) of RA 7160 empowers the city, through an ordinance, to regulate traffic in all streets and bridges within the city territory.”
In July 2020, the Muntinlupa City Council authorized the mayor to enter into a memorandum of agreement “with QPAX Traffic System to implement the no-contact apprehension program (NCAP) using the state of the art technology in the monitoring of traffic ordinances, rules and regulations:”
According to the ordinance, “in order to enhance the culture of traffic discipline among motorists, the City of Muntinlupa will implement the NCAP which will provide another way of enforcing traffic rules and regulations by operating a 24-hour no contact apprehension program which is intended to instill a round-the-clock obedience to traffic ordinances and rules.”
Under the ordinance, NCAP “pertains to the sending of a notice of violation to the address of the registered owner of a vehicle based on the Land Transportation Office (LTO) database who commits the violations defined in this Ordinance as recorded by TECs without the physical apprehension by a traffic enforcer.”
The traffic rules covered by NCAP in the Muntinlupa ordinance are counterflow driving, disobedience to traffic control signals and signs, obstruction of the pedestrian lane, stopping on a yellow box, over speeding, reckless driving, failure to wear the prescribed seatbelt device, failure to use motorcycle helmets, anti-distracted driving, driving an unregistered vehicle, failure to attach or improper attachment/tampering of authorized vehicle license plate and/or third plate sticker and disregarding lane markings.
Violators will be fined P3,000 for the first offense, P4,000 for the second, and P5,000 for the third.