Supreme Court dismisses petitions vs No Contact Apprehension Policy

The Supreme Court of the Philippines has dismissed the consolidated petitions challenging the legality of the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) implemented by several Metro Manila local government units.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil N. Zalameda and promulgated on 3 June 2026, but released to the public on Thursday, the Court ruled that the legal challenges had been rendered moot by subsequent regulatory developments.

The Court cited the adoption of the Metro Manila Traffic Code 2023 by the Metro Manila Council as the primary reason the petitions no longer required judicial intervention.

It also dismissed the petitions for lack of legal standing, failure to exhaust administrative remedies, violation of the hierarchy of courts, and forum shopping.

The petitioners, led by the Kilusan sa Pagbabago ng Industriya ng Transportasyon, argued that ordinances enacted by Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Quezon City, Valenzuela and Manila implementing NCAP under Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Resolution No. 16-01 were unconstitutional.

"Courts will not declare a law or ordinance unconstitutional unless there is a clear and unequivocal breach of the Constitution," the Court said.

The Supreme Court noted that the Metro Manila Traffic Code 2023 established a uniform traffic adjudication system, procedures before traffic adjudication boards, periods for settling notices of violation, guidelines for recording violations in the Land Transportation Office Land Transportation Management System, data privacy safeguards, uniform fines and penalties, recognized online payment platforms, and rules on mandatory authorization.

According to the Court, any ruling on the validity of the previous city ordinances would no longer have any practical or legal effect.

"The legal and factual terrains upon which the challenged NCAP City Ordinances once operated have been substantially altered, such that the scope and efficacy of said Ordinances can no longer be assessed within the framework originally presented by the petitioners," the decision stated.

The Court also lifted the temporary restraining order it issued on 30 August 2022 against Manila, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, the Land Transportation Office and other parties covered by the injunction.

In a separate concurring and dissenting opinion, Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen agreed that the issues involving privacy and due process had become moot. However, he maintained that the validity of NCAP as a method of traffic enforcement remained a justiciable issue that the Court should have resolved.