Julia Christine Botin

SC asked to recall partial lifting of TRO on NCAP

Article (news)

Adrian Ayalin

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Lawyer Juman Paa has asked the Supreme Court to recall the partial lifting of the temporary restraining order (TRO) against the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) “in the interest of substantial justice and humanitarian consideration.”In his motion for consideration dated May 29, 2025, Paa argued that while he is not against the NCAP per se, the resumption of the policy raises previous concerns on the right to due process of law and the right to privacy.Last May 20, the Supreme Court partially lifted the TRO, followed by a clarification that the resolution only covers major thoroughfares such as EDSA, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon Avenue, Roxas Boulevard and C-5.The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) then issued on May 24 that the NCAP will be implement in major roads in Manila such as C1-Recto, C2 Mendoza, C2 President Quirino, R1 Roxas Boulevard, R2 Taft Avenue, among others.Paa stressed that there is no basis to impose the “registered owner of vehicle rule” wherein the burden of proof to be absolved from accountability for traffic violations rests upon the registered owner of the vehicle.The lawyer also noted that the personal information of the registered owner of the vehicle would be processed even if the identity of the actual driver who committed the violation is still uncertain is tantamount to a breach of data privacy.“This would ineluctably subject the registered owners to unfair and unreasonable liability solely due to basis of ownership,” Paa said.He also underscored in his motion the failure of the MMDA to submit documents to prove it is ready to implement the NCAP, such as the comprehensive memorandum of agreement with the Land Transportation Office stating the scope of authority and limitation of functions and other parameters as well as the data privacy agreement and service contract agreement if the system is operated by a contractor.He also said that the implementation of NCAP, mainly because of the EDSA rehabilitation project, will substantially render the TRO against the City of Manila futile.“With 40 percent of the covered roads being located in the City of Manila, it can be surmised that the operation of the NCAP is more focused on the city that had the most collection of fines and penalties for traffic violation caught via NCAP before the issuance of the TRO,” he said.Paa also cited in the motion the ability of the MMDA to implement the NCAP program almost a week after the partial lifting of the TRO.He said that if the IT (Information Technology) provider for the MMDA NCAP implementation was outsourced, the services of said provider should have undergone the proper procurement process.“Otherwise, it can be deduced that the MMDA initiated the preparations for its NCAP implementation even before this honorable court granted the ex-parte motion,” Paa said.

Paa argued the resumption of the policy raises previous concerns on the right to due process of law and the right to privacy.

Paa argued the resumption of the policy raises previous concerns on the right to due process of law and the right to privacy.