MMDA reinstates NCAP

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

January 1, 2026 | 12:00am

Yearender

MANILA, Philippines — After almost three years of suspension, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has been working to ensure that the no-contact apprehension policy or NCAP is effective in managing the perennially deplorable vehicular traffic conditions in the capital.

In May, the Supreme Court (SC) lifted the temporary restraining order imposed on the MMDA’s version of the NCAP in August 2022.

The high tribunal agreed with the MMDA’s position that the NCAP’s suspension resulted in over 833,000 traffic violations from August 2022 to April 2025.

The NCAP uses closed-circuit television cameras with artificial intelligence capabilities to track violators, as well as a system that automatically issues notices to traffic violators.

It also flags the top 20 traffic violations along highways and other public roads under the MMDA’s watch, including circumferential and radial roads.

A week after the SC’s decision, enterprising drivers found ways to avoid getting caught through the NCAP.

Most of them had their license plates covered or altered, even using ordinary items such as paper plates.

However, the MMDA and Land Transportation Office (LTO) warned those who do this that they would face a fine of P5,000.

In June, three people were arrested for stealing fiber optic cables from NCAP cameras installed on the EDSA-Guadalupe footbridge.

The incidents did not deter the MMDA from implementing the NCAP.

The agency introduced enhancements, such as the delivery of notice of violations through text messages and email.

Other improvements include a better “May Huli Ka” website that enables motorists to track potential violations using their license plate number and motor vehicle file number, the use of body-worn cameras during road-clearing operations targeting illegally parked vehicles, and a mechanism wherein motorists can appeal apprehensions online.

The NCAP was also applied in the Ortigas area, where exclusive schools are located, after the MMDA reported frequent traffic offenses including illegal parking and road obstruction, particularly during the periods when students are picked up and dropped off.

Despite these measures, the NCAP did not run out of critics, particularly after an incident when an electric vehicle – supposedly exempted from the number coding scheme – was apprehended for violating the policy.

In defense of the NCAP’s reinstatement, the MMDA maintained that it was more efficient than traffic enforcers in catching offenders.

The MMDA pointed out that the deployment of traffic enforcers remained the same even with the NCAP.

The policy also has an internal mechanism of validating traffic violations, giving space for leniency toward motorists who can prove that they did not commit a violation.

As of early December, the MMDA had logged 252,315 traffic violations through the NCAP. Of the number, 119,345 were validated or proven to have committed offenses.