LGUs should refund NCAP fines if found illegal – Barbers

MANILA, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) should refund the traffic fines paid by motorists if the no-contact apprehension policy or NCAP is found to be unconstitutional, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said yesterday.

Barbers expressed belief that the NCAP is illegal because motorists are slapped with hefty fines even for minor traffic violations.

“If the policy is proven unlawful, the LGUs must refund the traffic fines collected from motorists,” he said. “I received a lot of letters and e-mails from those who were fined, saying that the amount is excessive.”

In a privilege speech last Aug. 9, Barbers asked his colleagues in the House of Representatives to probe the implementation of the NCAP by LGUs amid complaints from private car owners and drivers of public utility vehicles.

Barbers clarified that he is not against NCAP, but he believes there should be a unified no-contact apprehension program for the entire country.

He said the issues hounding the NCAP must be resolved first.

“The questions that we raised in the implementation of the NCAP were quite alarming because of the issue of constitutionality, of charging hefty fines and others. We have to look into these,” Barbers said.

Quezon City 4th District Rep. Marvin Rillo has filed a resolution asking the House committees on local government, Metro Manila development and transportation to probe the implementation of the NCAP.

He called on the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and concerned LGUs enforcing the traffic scheme to suspend the NCAP pending a uniform guideline for the policy.

Aside from the MMDA, the local governments of Manila, Caloocan, Parañaque, Quezon City, San Juan and Valenzuela are implementing the NCAP.

The MMDA hit back at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for calling on the agency to suspend its NCAP.

“They are barking at the wrong tree,” the MMDA said in a Facebook post.

The MMDA reiterated that the agency’s NCAP is different from the policy being implemented by LGUs.

“The NCAP is based on Resolution No. 16-01, which took effect in 2016,” the MMDA said, adding that the fines imposed by the agency are also lower compared those collected by LGUs.

“Compared to the LGUs in Metro Manila which implement the policy, the MMDA’s NCAP is in-house. The closed-circuit television system used by the MMDA is owned by the agency. There are no third party service providers operating these CCTVs,” the statement read.

The MMDA said it respects the autonomy of the LGUs regarding their respective ordinances on NCAP.

MMDA Task Force Special Operations head Edison Nebrija said they would abide by the court’s decision on petitions questioning the NCAP. – Ralph Edwin Villanueva