Enforcers to wear body cams for single ticketing system

MANILA, Philippines — Traffic enforcers will wear body cameras once the single ticketing system is enforced in Metro Manila on May 2, an official said on Thursday.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is set to procure the body-worn cameras, which would be linked to the MMDA Metrobase so the enforcers’ activities would be monitored in real time, acting MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said.

“Traffic enforcers who will give tickets (must) inform motorists they have body cameras before apprehension,” he said during a press briefing at the new MMDA headquarters in Pasig City.

Aside from the body cameras, traffic enforcers will also use handheld devices that can print violation tickets, similar to those used by the Land Transportation Office (LTO). These devices will also receive payment of fines using digital means such as mobile wallets.

The MMDA hopes that by using body-worn cameras, enforcers will be prevented from taking bribes since the agency’s command center will be able to see what happens during an apprehension, Artes said.

The handheld devices would have a list of traffic violations, preventing enforcers from making them up, he added.

The MMDA, Metro Manila mayors and the LTO entered into agreements last Wednesday, particularly on the interconnectivity of the LTO’s Land Transportation Management System with the local government units.