MMDA to enforce ‘no contact’ apprehension of traffic violators Apr. 15

MANILA — Starting April 15, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will be strictly implementing the “no-contact” apprehension policy, which will list road violations of motorists with the help of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

During the agency’s weekly radio program on Sunday, MMDA No-Contact Policy head Ronnie Rivera said they have added 250 high-definition cameras all around Metro Manila.

He noted that the agency has been setting up some of the cameras and testing their quality. “We are checking if they can see even from afar the plate numbers of vehicles passing along designated roads,” he added.

Rivera also said that they have been fixing the angles of the cameras to check if they could better capture a vehicle’s plate number and the violation along the road.

“We are also waiting for another 100 cameras to help us with the no-contact apprehension policy,” he added noting that the agency would focus on violations like illegally parked vehicles, staying in the yellow box, use of bus lanes, reckless driving and loading and unloading in prohibited areas.

MMDA Chair Emerson Carlos earlier said that the additional cameras would add to an existing 400 CCTV cameras in the entire Metro Manila.

He said on Sunday that the agency would send a ticket to the owner of the vehicle if it was caught violating traffic rules.

“If the owner was not the driver of the car when it violated the law, he or she would have seven days to inform the MMDA who the driver of the vehicle was at that time,” Carlos added.

The MMDA chair added that a 15-man team would monitor the footages from the cameras at the MMDA Metrobase in Orense Street, Makati City.

The re-implementation of the traffic scheme was decided last February after the Metro Manila Council, the policy-making arm of the MMDA, said that the no-contact apprehension was an effective tool to catch erring motorists after a 6-month test period way back in 2011.

The agency initially implemented the “no-contact” policy during the time of former MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando. It was revived in 2011 under then MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino but focused on overspeeding motorists along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City.

Carlos also explained that it would focus on major thoroughfares like Edsa and C-5 but the no-contact policy would also be adopted anywhere in Metro Manila where the MMDA has installed working CCTV cameras and has deployed traffic constables.

He, however, claimed that their monitoring and apprehension would not be limited to CCTV footages alone as traffic enforcers could also use mobile and digital cameras to record violations.

The agency wants to minimize physical apprehension to prevent heavy traffic on metro roads and to remove the temptation for extortion and bribery among the ranks.  SFM