Surigao City, Surigao del Norte. Cong. Robert Ace Barbers blasted the Land Transportation Office (LTO) over the weekend for the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) after hearing a lot of complaints from the motoring public on its implementation.
Barbers has pushed for the immediate suspension of the NCAP during his privilege speech last Tuesday after a series of complaints from the motoring public on its implementation that create confusions and problems.
LTO chief Teofilo Guadiz III issued a memorandum on Wednesday to temporarily deactivate the NCAP after a lot of public utility vehicle operators are complaining that they are the ones getting charged for the violations committed by their drivers.
“The mounting complaints against NCAP implementation necessitate the review of all contracts and MOAs [Memorandum of Agreements] to determine their constitutionalityThis early, we need to suspend NCAP implementation and correct its flaws and loopholes,” Barbers said.
“So there would be no or less complaints from motorists in the days to come,” he added.
A very reliable source inside the LTO, however, disclosed that a text instruction coming from Guadiz himself, allegedly informing all the local government units to recall the “Memo about the NCAP-Local Government Units (LGUs)” and start re-activation of all LGU accounts.
Guadiz stayed mum over the unconfirmed text message coming from the LTO, however just a few hours after the first official memo suspending the NCAP appeared.
That instruction was confusing to most LTO officers whether the NCAP memo would be either deactivated or being implemented.
“It’s very frustrating that contradicting memos appeared in one day. It’s very confusing as well,” the LTO official who requested anonymity said.
“The NCAP system is laudable since the intent is to discipline erring, abusive or wayward drivers. But the implementers, I was told, are imposing excessive fines and could be violating the Constitution since there is no due process of law,” Barbers explained during his speech.
“And there is no law, ordinance or regulation prohibiting vehicle registration due to non-payment of fines for traffic violations,” he emphasized.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic enforcers behind the NCAP are tracking and watching traffic law violators via state-of-the-art digital cameras and CCTV which are located in every corner.
Every LGU has different draft guidelines of the policy.
In other developments, the source also revealed that the LTO is now under the process of bidding to acquire spare parts for CL1 laser engravers, which are critical to printing of details in the driver’s licenses.
“We are waiting for their actions to repair most of our laser engravers. It causes further delays to the process of driver license because most of the lasers are not functioning,” the source disclosed. “It’s already awarded to Dermalog, but there’s still no action done yet.”
The LTO has approved a total of P14,027,319.85 budget for CL1 laser engraver under manufacturer IXLA and is exclusively distributed by Dermalog.
Meanwhile, another LTO official who refused not to be named believes that there’s something deeper in the country’s government land transportation agency particularly on the battery of consultants of Guadiz.
An ex-Department of Justice (DOJ) undersecretary Zabedin Azis, who served during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III in 2015 and recommended by former Senator and former President Rodrigo Duterte critic Leila Delima, is among those consultants.
Others are former LTO Regional Director Alex Abaton, and Atty. Jerome Christopher Leynes — the husband of LTFRB board member Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes who was a classmate before of Executive Secretary Atty. Vic Rodriguez.
Despite those consultants, the official was dumbfounded by how the LTO chief is treating certain issues like resolving the NCAP problem and the hint of bringing back the old IT provider Stradcom while criticizing Dermalog regarding the slow processing of driver’s licenses.
“We are really surprised to have those people like Asis who was part of the Aquino administration and recommended by Duterte critic, ex-senator Leila Delima. We are hoping to fix these issues immediately and resolve them,” according to the officer.
Roy Tomandao
Si Roy Tumandao ay kasalukuyang pangulo ng Camp Vicente Lim Press Corps. Nagsimula siya sa larangan ng media noong 1992 at aktibo bilang photo journalist at news correspondent para sa iba’t ibang tabloid. Broadcaster siya ng DZJV 1458 Radyo Calabarzon.
