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Composite photo shows the viral motorcycle which had the last three letters of its number plate covered with packaging tape.
Land Transportation Office
MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has preventively suspended a motorcycle rider’s license for three months after he partially covered his plate number to avoid being flagged by the No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) system.
“We already issued a show cause order against the registered owner of this motorcycle wherein we also informed him that his driver’s license is suspended for 90 days,” LTO Chief Vigor Mendoza II said in a statement on Friday, May 30.
While the case is ongoing, the LTO has placed the motorcycle “under alarm” to stop it from being used in any official transactions.
The case first gained attention online after a photo of the motorcycle, seen driving with what looked like packaging tape covering the three letters of its number plate, made rounds on social media.
Some Facebook users reposted the image with captions like “Natatakot ka ba sa NCAP (Are you afraid of the NCAP)? No problem.” Others reacted with sarcasm, saying, “Aba, matalino (Wow, smart.)”
This, however, was no joke to the LTO, especially after it had just reimplemented the NCAP on May 26. Its investigation found that the motorcycle’s registered owner is a resident of San Juan City.
“Maliwanag na isa itong pambabastos sa batas. Gaya ng sinabi ng ating DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon, hindi na papayag ang pamahalaan sa mga motoristang katulad nito,” Mendoza said.
(It is clear that this is an act of disrespect for the law. As our DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon said, the government will no longer tolerate motorists like this.)
Although the owner's license has already been suspended, the LTO is still verifying whether the owner was responsible for covering the plate.
In the meantime, the LTO has summoned the registered owner to surrender their license before the scheduled hearing and submit a written explanation by June 3 at 10 a.m. at the central office, detailing why they should not be held liable for failing to keep their license plate fully visible.
The agency has filed cases against the motorcycle’s owner for violating Section 18 of Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, and for being deemed an “improper person to operate a motor vehicle.”
Since the passenger, who has yet to be confirmed as the driver, was seen wearing a ride-hailing service helmet, the show cause order also requested proof of their employment with the company.
The MMDA already issued a warning on Thursday, May 29, saying that motorists who cover their number plates to evade the NCAP’s CCTV detection could face fines of up to P5,000.
Designed to ease traffic congestion, the policy will run alongside the pilot test of the new odd-even coding scheme. The MMDA, however, clarified that emergency vehicles will be exempt.
