The 17 mayors in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Thursday, April 13, on the Single-Ticketing System ushering in a new era of traffic management and regulation in the region. The implementation of the Single-Ticketing System in the NCR will start on May 2 in seven cities that were identified for its pilot-testing —San Juan, Muntinlupa, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Parañaque, Manila, and Caloocan. According to San Juan City Mayor and Metro Manila Council (MMC) President Francis Zamora, the MOA signing was held at the MMDA New Building in Pasig City and was attended by some mayors of Metro Manila, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Atty. Hubert Guevarra, LTO Chief Atty. Jay Art Tugade, MMDA Acting Chairman Atty. Romando Artes, and former MMDA Chairman and now Sen. Francis Tolentino. "All the 17 Metro Manila Mayors have signed and approved the Metro Manila Traffic Code of 2023 which defines the 20 common traffic violations and the corresponding standardized fines," Zamora said. The MMDA had previously released the list of common traffic violations to be included in the Single Ticketing System. These are: Disregarding traffic sign, illegal parking both attended and unattended, violation of number coding, truck ban, reckless driving, tricycle ban, obstruction, dress code for motorcycles, overloading, defective motor vehicle accessories, unauthorized modification, arrogance/discourteous conduct, loading and unloading zone in prohibited zones, illegal counterflow and overspeeding. Illegal counterflow, unauthorized modification, truck ban, illegal parking for unattended cars and reckless driving have the heaviest penalty. “As President of the Metro Manila Council, I am very happy about the unanimous approval of the Metro Manila Traffic Code which paves the way for the implementation of the Single Ticketing System which has been 28 years in the making but has been finally approved by the current Metro Manila Council," Zamora noted. "Malaking bagay din po ang pirmahang ito spagkat ngayon ay magkakaroon na po tayo ng access sa data ng Land Transportation Office at mahalaga po yan sapagkat makikita na natin ang violations ng mga drivers at ganun din po makikita din natin yung mga demerit points kung sakaling paulit ulit nga po tayong gumawa ng di pagsunod sa batas trapiko (This signing is a big thing for everyone because now, we can have access to the data of the Land Transportation Office which enables us to see the violations of drivers as well as their demerit points in case they repeatedly violate traffic laws)," he added. The local chief explained that the integration of the of IT systems of the LTO and the 17 LGUs will facilitate the checking of records of violations of people they have apprehended in their respective localities. The LGUs will also be provided with special ticketing gadgets connected to a secured server that will account for violations in the entire NCR. This will make it easier for people to pay their fines incurred after being penalized for violating the Metro Manila traffic code anywhere in the country since payments may be done via digital payment platforms and e-wallets. "So we do not have to go to the city hall anymore kung saan tayo nahuli para lang magbayad. Kahit saan tayo sa Pilipinas, meron tayong pagkakataong magbayad at ito yung convenience na mararanasan ng ating mga mamamayan lalo na ho yung mga nakatira sa malalayong lugar halimbawa taga Ilocos or taga Bicol na napadaan ng Maynila at nahuli dito. Hindi na kinakailangang bumalik dito para lang magbayad ng multa (So we do not have to go to the city hall of the city where we committed the violation anymore to pay our fine. Wherever we may be in the Philippines, we have a chance to settle our fine and this is the biggest convenience the public may experience under the system especially those who live in far flung areas. For example, you live in Ilocos or Bicol and you committed a traffic violation in Manila, you no longer have to go back to the city to pay)," Zamora said in an previous radio interview. In March, Zamora said the MMC was targeting the implementation of the system by the end of April this year. On April 11, San Juan City rolled out its wheel clamping ordinance together with the signing of a MOA with Starpay that allows violators to immediately and conveniently pay their fines online. Zamora explained that violators of the clamping ordinance may immediately pay their fines to the City Treasury via online transaction by scanning a QR Code via Starpay and may show their proof of payment to city traffic enforcers so that the clamps on their vehicles will be immediately removed. The mayor noted that all major banks and e-wallet platforms may be used to pay the fines online through Starpay and the QRPH Standard and stressed that this new method of paying fines will be a big convenience to motorists as they will no longer need to go to the city hall to pay their fines. Apprehended vehicle owners will simply need to scan the QR Code presented by the enforcer using their preferred banking or e-wallet application to settle their payments with ease, providing additional convenience as well to the enforcer who will not handle cash transactions anymore.