The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has asked the Local Government Units (LGU) to address the loopholes in the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) which piles heaping complaints from motorists over discrepancies.
NCAP, which is currently implemented in some cities in Metro Manila, should be temporarily suspended to ensure fair and just implementation, according to LTO chief Teofilo Guadiz III.
Guadiz, also one of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) assistant secretaries, said the LTO is willing to sit down with the LGUs to “iron out guidelines.”
He said that the public utility vehicles (PUV) operators should also be included in the meeting as they have been forced to pay the fines for traffic violations committed by their drivers.
“Under the law, the person who pays the fine is the registered owner of the vehicle, on the presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle is driving and by command responsibility, the owner of the vehicle should pay if there is a violation,” Guadiz said.
“This is what we are studying now. It seems that there is a deficiency in the policy that may need to be reviewed so that the driver or driver of the vehicle will be the one responsible for the violation. We will look into ways that the one who should be held responsible is the driver,” he pointed out.
Guadiz also emphasized that LTO is only helping the LGUs and the MMDA in the implementation by sending alarms about the vehicle in violation while the LGUs draft the guidelines of NCAP.
The NCAP utilizes CCTV, digital cameras, and/or other gadgets or technology to capture videos and images to apprehend vehicles violating traffic laws, rules, and regulations.