The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the mayors in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday signed agreements with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in connection with the implementation of a single ticketing system scheme.
The dry run for the said policy will start on May 2.
The signed agreements were for the interconnectivity of local government units in Metro Manila with the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) of the LTO.
MMDA chairman Romando Artes said the signing of the memorandum and data sharing is a historic legislation in the Metro Manila Council since it took 28 years before being fully realized.
The pilot testing will be undertaken by the MMDA, together with seven LGUs, namely: San Juan, Muntinlupa, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Parañaque, Manila, and Caloocan.
“The pilot testing will be done so the next LGUs that will be onboard will roll out their respective systems seamlessly,” Artes said.
The MMDA will provide handheld devices to apprehending officers that can provide options for cashless payments to violators. It will also help minimize corruption and eradicate forms of negotiations between the motorist and the officer, Artes said.
Former MMDA chairman and now Senator Francis Tolentino, who attended the signing ceremony held at MMDA New Building on Julia Vargas Avenue in Pasig City, expressed support for the single ticketing system as he underscored the importance of integration.
“Integration will enable different systems to communicate with each other, to offer a unified solution at “yan ang ginagawa nyo ngayon,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Guevarra said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed the passing of the single ticketing system.
“As you spearhead the institutionalization of the single ticketing system in the NCR, make it so that all your efforts will translate to an even more seamless and consistent application of our traffic laws. Let this be a way for all our motorists to become more conscious and respectful of our laws, rules, and regulations,” Guevarra said as he read the President’s message.
LTO chief Jay Art Tugade, through lawyer Noreen San Luis-Lutey, expressed his support on the rollout of the system.
San Luis-Lutey said that the signing of the MOA and DSA is monumental for the LTO.
“It is a big milestone for us in terms of enhancing driver discipline through consistent and coordinated law enforcement initiatives,” San Luis-Lutey said.
She also said that it is the LTO’s compliance with the implementation of the ten-year validity of driver’s license.
San Juan City Mayor and Metro Manila Council (MMC) President FrancisZamora, for his part, thanked his fellow local chief executives for being part of the landmark legislation.
“The mayors have shown support and love to Metro Manila by amending our traffic ordinances to create a unified traffic code,” he said.
The MMC, composed of the 17 mayors in Metro Manila, is the governing board and the policy making body of the MMDA.
The single ticketing system will harmonize the existing national and local laws on traffic enforcement, as well as penalties and fines of the most common traffic violations stated in the Metro Manila Traffic Code.
The move aims to establish effective transport and traffic management in Metro Manila by standardizing apprehension procedures, payment of fines, and redemption of vehicle plates and drivers’ licenses, among others.