Gutierrez urges House inquiry on readiness to re-implement NCAP

House Deputy Majority Leader and 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Rodrigo “Rodge” Gutierrez urged the lower chamber to conduct a probe on the recent decision to re-implement the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) in various cities in Metro Manila.

Gutierrez said that it was important to identify whether authorities were prepared to implement the camera-based traffic enforcement and to certify that the law was fairly applied for every motorist.

“The implementation must be even and clear–one standard…the regulations, fines, and means to appeal must not be different just because you crossed to a different city,” he said.

The lawmaker argued that it was crucial for the House Committee on Transportation to verify whether the system had actually brought improvements to traffic within the cities it was implemented.

In line with his previous point, Gutierrez said that it was important that motorists were also afforded an equal opportunity to appeal their cases, particularly in various circumstances where riders are forced into peculiar situations.

“Cameras must catch clear violations. Penalties should not be automatically imposed because of a lack of signages, broken roads, or situations where you could not do anything,” he stated.

“Often riders are the first to experience the uneven implementation. We will keep an eye on this,” he added.

As part of his request for investigation on NCAP, Gutierrez sought for the committee on transportation to examine how footage that was gathered from the cameras were stored and protected.

He likewise urged for the individuals that handle the fines to be identified and know if the collected fines were utilized for measures to improve traffic management.

The lawmaker stressed the need to ensure for such law to be streamlined across different cities and to remain in accordance with the Constitution.