After the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) last week, a lot more has been and is being done to “remedy” its perceived wrongs. The biggest problem for those whose vehicles were tagged for violations is that they cannot be registered with the Land Transportation Office until such time that fines have been settled. Two days ago, the LTO has announced its official statement on this matter.
Lift NCAP Violations to allow for motor vehicle registration with LTO
By now it is common knowledge that there are a lot of violations that are being contested by motorists. The problem here is that a resolution may take up to 14 days, and until such time, no vehicle tagged for a violation can be registered. It’s this exact problem that the LTO wishes to address as it asked the various LGUs to lift, albeit temporarily, all tags and alarms on vehicles so they can be properly registered.
“Temporary” is an operative term here. While the TRO is in place, registration won’t be a problem. However, violations will be re-applied to the concerned vehicles or done away with depending on the Supreme Court’s resolution on whether to reimplement or totally scrap the NCAP (next year).
“This will allow the renewal of registration of apprehended motor vehicles through the NCAP pending the final Decision/Resolution of the Supreme Court on the matter. In the event the Supreme Court will affirm the validity of the same, the alarms shall be re-tagged in our system, and the fines/penalties shall be reflected and/or applied during the next renewal for registration,” Teofilo Guadiz III, Chief Assistant Secretary, Land Transportation Office (LTO)
According to the LTO‘s statement, Quezon City, Paranaque, and Bataan are in the process of lifting the alarms from vehicles caught via NCAP. Other cities will most likely follow suit within the next few days.
The NCAP is a fundamentally sound idea to promote and protect law and order on the streets. What’s sad is that it is easily seen as a means for corruption because, let’s face it, there are a lot of individuals and groups who find ways to exploit what is otherwise supposed to be a decent and working system. But let’s hold out some hope that the government can find the best ways possible to do things the right way.
After all, everyone’s safety and security should always be a top priority.
