The Land Transportation Office (LTO) said it will appeal the NCAP fines for public utility vehicles (PUVs), saying they are way much higher than what the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is imposing.
According to LTO chief Assistant Secretary Teofilo Guadiz III, the fines imposed under NCAP should be the same, if not lower, as those imposed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
“The penalties exacted by LGUs are much much higher. Maybe we could harmonize this, there would be lesser complaints,” Guadiz said.
City Governments implementing NCAP have based their penalties on a joint administrative order (JAO) issued by the Department of Transportation and Communications in 2014. For comparison, MMDA imposes a penalty of Php 750 for reckless driving, while the said JAO imposes Php 2,000 for the first offense.
During the House panel’s hearing, Guadiz enumerated a technical working group’s other proposals to improve the NCAP, including accrediting local governments’ IT providers for traffic monitoring to avoid possible violations of the Data Privacy Act.
Second, the motor vehicle owner should be given 15 days to contest or respond to a summons before they are tagged as a violator, said Guadiz.
He added that the driver of a tagged vehicle at the time of the violation, instead of its owner, should be held accountable for fines.
featured image courtesy of Philippines News Agency
