MMDA set to implement new ticketing scheme

The new traffic ticketing system by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will be implemented starting Thursday.

The Metropolitan Traffic Ticket (MTT) is designed to reduce bribery and corruption in the system.

However, Traffic Operations Center (TOC) Executive Director Angelito Vergel de Dios acknowledged that there could be confusion among motorists because there are towns and cities in Metro Manila with their own traffic ticketing systems.

Makati City, for one, has its own traffic code and would issue its own Ordinance Violation Receipt (OVR) starting July 16.

"Some drivers may get confused because they can get a traffic violation ticket other than the MTT. Their tickets can also be confiscated," Vergel de Dios said.

Nevertheless, Vergel de Dios said the mayors of the 17 towns and cities have agreed to honor the MTT.

Under the MTT, traffic enforcers will no longer confiscate the licenses of erring drivers and violators can pay their fine at any Metrobank branch nationwide.

Under the old system, violators had to claim their licenses and pay their fines at MMDA redemption centers, a cumbersome process that was vulnerable to bribery and corruption.

Violators who do not pay their fines in seven days upon receipt of the MTT will have to pay a surcharge and may not be able to renew their license.