The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority opens the southbound lane of the EDSA-Kamuning Flyover in Quezon City on August 15, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority will reimplement the no-contact apprehension by Monday, May 26, after the Supreme Court partially lifted its temporary restraining order on the policy.

The stay order has been lifted for major thoroughfares where the MMDA has jurisdiction, such as EDSA and C5. However, the TRO remains in effect for local streets.

SC partially lifts TRO on No Contact Apprehension Policy

While the partial lifting of the TRO is effective immediately, MMDA chairman Don Artes said they would first inform the public about the reinstatement of the no-contact policy as well as its guidelines.

Artes told TeleRadyo Serbisyo that the new guidelines addressed all concerns of the petitioners, which he said could have prompted the partial lifting of the contentious program.

The fresh rules have adopted a single ticketing scheme in which the rates are now "common" for penalty violations, Artes said. 

He added that violators can now easily protest their infractions through email.

CCTV cameras are now equipped with artificial intelligence to spot possible violations, said Artes.

But violators flagged by the AI do not automatically receive notice from the MMDA because the agency would still review the footage, he said, admitting that AI is sometimes "not flexible."

Notices should be issued within one week, he said.

Artes added that he was coordinating with transportation agencies to tackle additional problems like address or change of ownership issues that could affect the implementation of the notice.

The MMDA official also said he believes that the reimplementation of the virtual apprehension could help prevent traffic as the EDSA rehabilitation begins in June.