Valenzuela City will temporarily suspend the return of its no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) on Monday, Oct. 5, citing ongoing road construction and changing traffic conditions, Mayor Wes Gatchalian said Saturday.
Gatchalian said the city recognized the purpose of NCAP but that conditions were not yet suitable for its reimplementation.
‘Sunod-sunod ang road construction sa ating mga major roads, at araw-araw ay nagbabago ang daloy ng trapiko. Ayaw nating dagdagan ang pasanin ng ating mga motorista sa panahong hindi pa normal ang kondisyon ng ating mga kalsada,’ he said in a Facebook post.
‘Unahin muna natin ang maayos at ligtas na daloy ng trapiko para sa ating mga Valenzuelano,’ he added.The suspension will remain in effect until further notice, Gatchalian said.
Six Metro Manila cities, including Valenzuela, had announced that NCAP would resume on Oct. 5.
The other cities are Quezon City, Manila, San Juan, Parañaque and Muntinlupa.
Under NCAP, CCTV and digital camera footage are used to identify traffic violators. The concerned local government units issue citation tickets and send them to vehicle owners.
The Supreme Court in July dismissed consolidated petitions challenging NCAP ordinances in the six cities, saying the issues had become moot following the adoption of the Metro Manila Traffic Code of 2023. It also lifted its 2022 temporary restraining order against the local governments’ NCAP systems.
The court clarified, however, that the dismissal did not rule on the validity of the challenged ordinances and that future challenges could be filed if the revised NCAP system gives rise to an actual controversy.