Motorists who travel around the Metro Manila regularly should be aware that the Supreme Court recently officially invalidated local government units (LGUs) of the National Capital Region (NCR) from issuing traffic violation tickets and seizing drivers’ licenses and ordered them to follow the ticketing system of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news report. Some parts in boldface…
The Supreme Court (SC) has invalidated provisions of ordinances by local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila allowing their respective traffic enforcers to issue violation receipts and confiscate driver’s licenses.
“A permanent injunction is hereby issued to enjoin respondent local government units from further issuing ordinance violation receipts; and confiscating licenses through their own traffic enforcers, unless they are deputized by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA),” the court said in its 42-page decision uploaded March 4 and penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.
This stemmed from a suit filed by 11 transport groups before the Court of Appeals in 2006, claiming that different citations from the MMDA and the LGUs are confusing as some bodies do not recognize tickets by other LGUs or the MMDA.
While the case was pending in 2012, a resolution by the MMDA Metro Manila Council (MMC) then adopted a uniform ticketing system and established a system of interconnectivity among the LGUs involved in transport and traffic management in Metro Manila.
In December of that year, the appellate court dismissed the suit, prompting the petitioners to elevate the case to the high tribunal.
The tribunal, in its ruling, said traffic management in the LGUs is covered by the MMDA Law.
“(T)he Court thus declares as invalid the common provision in the said traffic codes or ordinances of the LGUs in Metro Manila empowering each of them to issue OVR (ordinance violation receipts) to erring drivers and motorists,” the SC said.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction about this recent development? Do you think this new order by the Supreme Court will turn out helpful in the years to come?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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