Parañaque City Mayor Eric Olivarez announced on Tuesday, Aug. 30, that Metro Manila mayors will comply with the Supreme Court (SC) order temporarily stopping the implementation of the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP).
Olivarez said Paranaque along with other four cities implementing the NCAP will abide by SC’s temporary restraining order (TRO) which declared that “any apprehensions through the NCAP programs and ordinances related thereto shall be prohibited until further orders from the Court.”
Parañaque, Quezon City, Manila, Valenzuela City and San Juan City are implementing the NCAP to ease traffic in their respective areas.
Earlier, Atty. Voltaire dela Cruz, city administrator, said the city government learned about the TRO against NCAP through a social media post.
Mayor Olivarez said the local government will immediately cease the enforcement of NCAP in the city in response to the SC order.
It can be recalled that on Aug. 18, the five Metro Manila mayors came out with a joint statement declaring their common stand to continue the implementation of NCAP.
They issued the statement after a petition to stop the implementation of NCAP was filed by 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).
The Paranaque local government started implementing the NCAP in 2018 to help address the traffic problem in the city, particularly along Sucat Road.
The NCAP was enforced in the city during the administration of former mayor and now Parañaque 1st District Rep. Edwin Olivarez.