Metro Manila mayors and traffic management officials in the metropolis have approved the the final draft of the Metro Manila Traffic Code for the proposed single ticketing system in the National Capital Region (NCR) in a meeting held on Thursday, Jan. 19.
The proposed single ticketing system is expected to be fully implemented within the first quarter of this year.
Lawyer Romando Artes, chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), said the draft includes the agreement on the 20 most common traffic violation penalties which will be imposed uniformly in all Metro Manila local government units and interconnectivity requirements with the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) of the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
Artes said it was also agreed during the meeting that the MMDA will provide the fund for the purchase of the hardware and I.T requirements needed for seamless and simultaneous rollout of the local government units' (LGUs) integration with the LTMS.
“We will conduct an inventory of each LGUs with regards their respective systems and equipment for the planned interconnectivity with the LTO database for them to have access on the motorists’ records,” Artes said.
“After a series of consultations with the LGUs and the transport sector, we have also finalized the standardized fines and penalties for the most common traffic violations such as disregarding traffic signs, illegal parking, and number coding, among others,” he added.
Artes also said that the single ticketing system “will resolve some issues raised in the NCAP petition which is now pending in the Supreme Court and issues on the confiscation of driver’s license. The proposed system will also benefit motorists because it will provide ease of payment through digital payment channels which can be used by apprehended motorists anywhere.”
For his part, Metro Manila Council President and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said there will be another meeting to further review what was agreed by the technical working group working on the Metro Manila Traffic Code.
“We are confident that the Metro mayors will pass a resolution approving this. After the council’s approval, each LGUs will have to draft or amend their respective ordinances adapting standardized fines on the identified common traffic violations,” Zamora said.
Despite the approval, both Artes and Zamora emphasized that it is still up to the LGUs to create their own ordinances for other traffic-related offenses which are not stipulated in the traffic code as part of their local autonomy.