Last week, representatives from different NCR cities, the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and various stakeholders conducted a Technical Working Group (TWG) workshop that discussed the establishment of a Metro Manila-wide Single Ticketing System or STS.
Under the proposed STS, traffic enforcers from LGUs will use LTO’s traffic violation ticketing system and the traffic violators’ records will go straight to LTO’s database.
LTO chief, Atty. Jay Art Tugade said that while a draft memorandum circular has already been sent out, the agency will be holding consultative meetings with concerned stakeholders.
“We’re just waiting for feedback po doon sa ating mga partners dito po sa programa (We're just waiting for feedback from our program partners),” said Tugade.
Additionally, with the STS in place, traffic enforcers from different NCR cities will be using harmonized traffic rules and regulations based on Republic Act 4136 or The Land Transportation And Traffic Code of the Philippines, and their interpretation of the law will be uniform.
“Ma-monitor po natin ang performance ng ating mga drivers via a common demerit points system (We'll be able to monitor the performance of our drivers via a common demerit points system),” added Tugade.
Demerit system
The LTO has implemented a demerit system in accordance with Republic Act 10930. In a nutshell, every driver’s license holder that is apprehended due to a traffic violation will be given a demerit point.
Now, depending on the severity of the traffic violation, a driver’s license holder can be penalized with 1, 2, or even 5 demerit points. Moreover, drivers will be prohibited from changing classifications (e.g. from Non-Pro to Pro, restriction 2 to 3, etc.) of their licenses upon receipt of demerit points. There is a 3-month restriction for 1-2 demerit points, 6 months for 3-4 demerit points, and 1 year for 5 or more demerit points.
“The intention is not to increase the penalty but to have a penalty that will serve as a deterrent. We will make sure na iyong privilege to drive po ay ibibigay lang po natin doon sa mga karapat-dapat at saka mga responsableng drivers (We will make sure that the privilege to drive will only be given to those worthy and responsible drivers),” ended Tugade.
