THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority yesterday said it has started sending notices of violation to traffic violators amid the enforcement of the No Contact Apprehension Program.
MMDA chief Romando Artes said the notices were sent after “a thorough review” of the violations caught on closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs).
Artes said the agency’s Motorcycle Unit sent notices to the addresses of vehicle owners in the National Capital Region, based on the records of the Land Transportation Office.
Other notices were sent through mail, including those whose addresses, as seen in the LTO records, are outside Metro Manila.
“The MMDA assures the public that traffic violations caught on camera undergo manual review and verification,” Artes said.
Earlier, the MMDA reassured motorists that it is carefully reviewing all apprehensions made since it resumed enforcing the NCAP last month on EDSA and other major roadways in the metropolis after the Supreme Court partially lifted its injunction on the policy.
Artes said that not all of the more than 8,000 NCAP apprehensions resulted in the issuance of a notice of violation to motorists.
The agency resumed enforcing the NCAP on May 26.
He said of the 8,586 apprehensions, only 4,100 were confirmed after undergoing review.
The NCAP utilizes CCTVs and digital cameras to identify and apprehend traffic violators through videos and images captured of their violation.
Once a violation is detected, the MMDA issues traffic citation tickets and mails them directly to the vehicle’s registered owners.
ERRING MOTORISTS
In a related development, the MMDA said its traffic enforcers deployed on major thoroughfares can still arrest traffic violators even with the NCAP in place.
“Despite the implementation of NCAP, physical apprehension can be done in blind spot areas not covered by the CCTV cameras. These areas are still manned by traffic enforcers who can issue tickets to those violating traffic rules,” Artes said.
The agency assured there will be no duplication of arrests made by its enforcers and those caught on camera.
The agency said traffic enforcers submit a copy of traffic violation tickets issued to erring motorists for “counter-checking” if the physical apprehension is also recorded by NCAP cameras.
The MMDA earlier said more than 350 CCTVs are deployed in EDSA and other major roadways in the metropolis, adding that plans are afoot for the deployment of additional cameras.
