FILE PHOTO: Motorists are enduring heavy traffic along Edsa in this file photo taken in November 2021. şÚÁĎÉç file photo / JONATHAN VICENTE
MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), local traffic bureau heads, and officials from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Thursday approved the final draft of the Metro Manila Traffic Code for the proposed single ticketing system in Metro Manila.
With this, the MMDA said in a statement that the technical working group, composed of these agencies, now agreed on the final 20 most common traffic violation penalties, which will be imposed in all Metro Manila local government units (LGUs), as well as interconnectivity requirements with LTO’s Land Transportation Management System (LTMS).
It was also agreed that the MMDA would provide the funds to purchase the hardware and I.T. requirements needed for the rollout of the LGUs’ integration with the LTMS.
“We will conduct an inventory of each LGUs with regards their respective systems and equipment for the planned interconnectivity with the LTO database for them to have access to the motorists’ records,” said MMDA Acting Chairman Don Artes.
“After a series of consultations with the LGUs and the transport sector, we have also finalized the standardized fines and penalties for the most common traffic violations such as disregarding traffic signs, illegal parking, and number coding, among others,” he added.
According to Artes, the single ticketing system “will resolve some issues raised in the NCAP petition, which is now pending in the Supreme Court, and issues on the confiscation of driver’s license.”
“The proposed system will also benefit motorists because it will provide ease of payment through digital payment channels which can be used by apprehended motorists anywhere,” he added.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila Council (MMC) president San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, in the same statement, said that the MMC is set to discuss the traffic code after its approval.
“We are confident that the Metro mayors will pass a resolution approving this. After the council’s approval, each LGUs will have to draft or amend their respective ordinances adopting standardized fines on the identified common traffic violations,” Zamora said.
However, both officials cleared that it is still up to the LGUs to create their ordinances for other traffic-related offenses which are not stipulated in the traffic code as part of their local autonomy.
LTO Regional Director Noreen San Luis-Lutey, for his part, explained that the LGU interconnectivity to the LTMS is mandated by law to create a single database for traffic violations across the metropolis.
The MMDA previously said that the single ticketing system is expected to be rolled out within the first quarter of this year.
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