The city government of Makati on Thursday suspended the confiscation of driver's licenses as it geared for the proposed single ticketing system.
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay said the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Makati approved City Ordinance 2022-A-167 temporarily suspending the confiscation of driver's licenses of traffic violators.
This is to help the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and Land Transportation Office manage traffic violations while they formulate the guidelines for their interconnectivity program.
Metro Manila Council Chairman and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora on 13 December announced the plan of the mayors council to introduce a standardized traffic citation system to be finalized next year.
The 20 common violations of motorists will be included in the new proposed system.
Zamora said for one, beating the red light corresponds to different fines in San Juan and Pasig, but with a standardized system. The same fine for a specific violation will be imposed in all cities.
The mayor introduced the single ticketing system during the joint session of the MMC and the Regional Development Council, which he also co-chairs, on 26 November to ease the burden on motorists.
The proposal to have a single or unified ticketing system aims to impose same amount of penalties for several common traffic violations in all the 17 Metro Manila LGUs.
The names of the erring drivers will be immediately listed in MMDA and LTO's digital records to make sure they cannot renew their licenses or declare them lost just to evade payment.
Motorists will be allowed not to surrender their driver's license to traffic enforcers and, instead, pay their fines via payment centers all over the country.
Zamora said the biggest convenience with the new system is that they won't need to come back to the local government where the violation occurred to pay the fine.
Likewise, the mayor warned that despite the prohibition of the confiscation of licenses, violators cannot refuse to pay their dues.
Refusing to pay the fine will mean an increase over time because erring motorists tends to hide from the law.