By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz
MANILA – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Friday issued a 90-day preventive suspension against the driver’s license of a motorcycle rider who covered his license plate to avoid the government’s No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) in Metro Manila.
In a statement, LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the driver, a resident of San Juan City, was caught after he was seen in a now-viral Facebook post.
“Maliwanag na isa itong pambabastos sa batas. Gaya ng sinabi ng ating DOTr (Department of Transportation) Secretary Vince Dizon, hindi na papayag ang pamahalaan sa mga motoristang katulad nito (This is clearly a disrespect to the law. Like what Secretary Dizon said, the government won’t tolerate such motorists),” Mendoza said.
In the Facebook post captioned ‘NCAP? No problem, magaya nga (I’ll copy this),’ a motorcycle driven by a rider wearing a Move It helmet had the last three letters of its license plate covered with packaging tape to obstruct visibility.
In addition to the preventive suspension, the driver was summoned to a hearing at the LTO Central Office and asked to submit a written explanation on why he should not be penalized through a show cause order (SCO).
The hearing and investigation seek to find out whether the registered owner was the one who covered the license plate.
On Thursday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) advised motorists that covering their license plate is penalized with a PHP5,000 fine.
In comparison, first offenders of illegal counterflow under the MMDA’s single ticketing system are fined PHP1,000, speeding carries a PHP1,000 fine, reckless driving up to PHP2,000, and number coding violations are fined PHP500.
The NCAP was recently reimplemented in major Metro Manila thoroughfares following the lifting of a temporary restraining order against the policy to help address the expected vehicular traffic that may be caused by the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) rebuild project beginning June 13.
The NCAP is currently on a dry run for one month, with those caught to be issued a notice of violation, but will not be issued a fine. (PNA)
