Supreme Court junks petitions versus no-contact apprehension traffic policy

National

THE Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed consolidated petitions challenging no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) implemented by Metro Manila local government units (LGUs), explaining that the traffic ordinances questioned by transport groups had been overtaken by a new traffic framework.

In a decision by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda on June 3, the high court lifted the temporary restraining order against the involved LGUs and Land Transportation Office. It ruled that the legal challenges were rendered moot because of the recent regulatory shifts in the assailed local ordinances.

"To engage in a resolution of the constitutional and legal challenges leveled against the assailed NCAP City Ordinances would be, at this juncture, a patently futile judicial exercise," the SC said in a report by Philstar.

It added: "Those Ordinances have been rendered functus officio by the subsequent enactments of the concerned LGUs, all of which have been calibrated in conformity with the MMTC 2023, which is not being challenged in these petitions or in any other forum.”

The case stemmed from ordinances issued by Quezon City and the cities of Manila, Valenzuela, Parañaque and Muntinlupa.

The petitions were filed by Kilusan sa Pagbabago ng Industriya ng Transportasyon and other transport groups, arguing that NCAP violates Republic Act No. 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.

They claimed that NCAP holds the registered vehicle owner responsible for violations instead of the vehicle driver.

They also argued that the policy denies vehicle owners due process because penalties could accumulate before receiving physical notice of the violations.

The High Court said the old local ordinances were no longer the controlling framework after Metro Manila adopted a unified traffic system under the Metro Manila Traffic Code of 2023 and related guidelines from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

The petitions were also dismissed for procedural defects, citing lack of legal standing, forum shopping, and violations of the hierarchy of courts and the rule on exhaustion of administrative remedies.

The SC said the dismissal should not be read as an endorsement of the original NCAP ordinances.

The ruling removes the legal obstacle to the implementation of NCAP in the affected local government units, although any challenge to the new traffic code must be filed through a separate legal case. (Mary Elaine Virtucio, UP Cebu Comm Intern)