2 solons welcome TRO on NCAP as it allows for more talks

The Supreme Court building in Manila. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) on the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) will open more opportunities for talks about the traffic system, some members of the House of Representatives said on Tuesday.

“We definitely welcome the TRO. The temporary halt will compel local governments to rethink the way they are recklessly enforcing the NCAP at the expense of motorists,” Quezon City Fourth District Rep. Martin Rillo said in a statement.

Rillo is the vice chair of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development.

“We would urge local governments to use the pause to conduct more extensive public consultations on the NCAP, and to heed the complaints and concerns of motorists,” he added.

The TRO will also give Congress time to resolve legal issues hounding the policy, according to Albay Second District Rep. Joey Salceda, chair of the Committee on Ways and Means.

“There were obvious flaws of legality from the very start. Policing is not something that can be subject to PPP [public-private partnership], or can be conducted without informing the citizen of his rights or allowing him or her adequate methods of redress. That violates due process,” Salceda said.

“So, I am grateful to the Supreme Court for their action. This will prevent the policy from doing any harm until we can resolve its legality and constitutionality,” he added.

Hot topic

The SC earlier announced that a TRO had been issued on the NCAP, which was being implemented by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and some local governments in the National Capital Region.

Over the past few weeks, the NCAP has been a hot topic among motorists, especially those in different social media discussion threads.

They cited cases in which people being cited did not own the vehicle involved in a traffic violation or were not even in the areas during the date of the violation.

There were also instances when the traffic violations people were cited for were dubious rules, like in the case of a motorist apprehended for using the bike lane.  Several Facebook pages claimed that the motorist was only making a right turn — and would therefore need to use the bike lane to turn right.

There are also claims that traffic lights are now changing faster or without warning, trapping motorists into violations.

The issues have led the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to seek the suspension of NCAP until a thorough study could be conducted.

Last Aug. 16, Rillo filed a House resolution that would authorize three House committees to probe the policy, amid a growing number of complaints.

Similarly, Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers questioned the constitutionality of the NCAP, as it supposedly imposed excessive fines on motorists.

Is it suitable for PPP?

Salceda also said that setting the NCAP as a public-private partnership program should also be clarified. Though supportive of PPPs, he said law enforcement should be left to government authorities.

“We are also studying what we can do to support the petitioners, including possibly an amicus brief. That’s not off the table. I particularly wish to bring to the court’s attention problems with structuring the NCAP within public-private partnerships,” Salceda said.

“I certainly am okay with using PPPs to provide the infrastructure for monitoring, the payments system, and even the methods of appealing. But apprehension, especially the division of fines, is a very bad way to structure a PPP. And a review of PPP Guidelines issued by the DILG and the PPP Center would show that the way NCAP PPPs are structured may not even be legal, without approval from the president,” he noted.

RELATED STORIES

SC temporarily stops no contact apprehension program 

MMDA, QC to stop imposing NCAP following SC TRO

LTO to LGUs: Suspend implementation of ‘no contact apprehension policy’

Solon wants no-contact apprehension policy probed, stopped immediately

3 House panels asked to probe no-contact apprehension policy

atm