Manila City Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan on Monday said she will convene a meeting to address the problems in the No-Contact Traffic Apprehension policy implemented in various places in Metro Manila.
This comes after vehicle owners and transport groups earlier expressed their concerns about the newly-implemented policy, such as the problem with large amounts of fines and penalties; the violation notices being given to wrong vehicle owners, and some violations being unintentionally committed due to road construction.
Lacuna first clarified that some penalty fees may reach thousands of pesos because some violators don't immediately pay for them.
“Wala pa po akong naririnig na ganiyang kalaki [Php 40,000 - 90,000 penalty fee]. Yung iba po kapag nag vi-violate po sila, hindi po agad nila nababayaran ang interest, kaya ganiyan po kalaki. Pinapadalhan po sila ng notice na kapag hindi pa po sila sumagot sa notice na yun o hindi po nila nabayaran ang kaukulang penalty, talaga pong nagkakaroon po ng interest duon,” she explained in an interview during DZRH’s Dos por Dos.
The penalty fees increase because the violation notice is given to the wrong vehicle owners.
This happens when the vehicle registration has not been transferred to the current owner yet. Consequently, the registered owners are the ones who receive the violation notice that they didn’t commit.
But Lacuna said vehicle owners who receive such notices can contest at any time.
She explained that the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) is taking a long time to send violation notices to vehicle owners.
“Ang PhilPost lang po ang pwedeng magpadala ng notices nung penalty. Kaya lamang po nagkaroon nga po ng problema dahil nagkaka-patong patong na po ang penalty. Ang ginawa po ng service provider, nakipag-usap na po sa private companies na pwedeng magdala ng notices. Dati po kasi inaabot po ng 50 days bago po maipalada ng Philpost. Wala po magawa ang service provider dahil ayun po ang nakalagay na binigay sa kanilang service,” she said.
For vehicle owners who happen to receive a notice but unintentionally committed the violation due to the road construction, Lacuna assured them that they will address this issue in the said meeting.
“Mayroon po kaming meeting ngayong linggo dahil pag-uusapan po namin yan. Dahil nga po dun sa pagbubungkal na ginagawa ay nagiging katwiran po ng iba na gumagamit ng mga sasakayan ay iniiwasan po nila ang pagbubungkal na ito. Kung kaya rin naman, nagkakaroon sila ng violation. So pag-uusapan namin yan within the week,” she said.
The No-Contact Traffic Apprehension is a Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) program enforced last July.
The policy utilizes CCTV, digital cameras, and other technology to capture videos and images to apprehend vehicles in Metro Manila who violate traffic laws, rules, and regulations.
