NAKATAKDANG magsampa ng kaso ang industry leader, consumer at anti-advocate na si Dr. Jesus Lim-Arranza laban sa Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Ito’y kaugnay sa personal na naranasang abala ng ipinatutupad na ‘No Contact Traffic Apprehension Policy’ ng MMDA.
“I went through this horrible experience myself when I was about to renew the registration of my cars at the Land Transportation Office. To facilitate the renewal, I was required to settle the MMDA penalties for the traffic infractions of an already resigned driver that happened over three years ago, which I only learned during the renewal of my cars’ registration,” saad ni Arranza.
Ani Arranza, ipinagtataka nito kung paano nagkaroon ng ganoong resolusyon ang MMDA kung saan ang may-ari ng sasakyan ang napaparusahan sa mga traffic violation at hindi ang nagmamaneho ng sasakyan.
“It happened to me. I only learned about the traffic infractions of my already resigned driver during the renewal of my car’s registration, three years after the traffic violation was caught by MMDA’s CCTV cameras. I never received any summon or a citation from MMDA in that regard over the three-year period,’ sabi pa nito.
Dagdag ni Arranza, pinalalampas niya ito noong una ngunit nang magrenew siya ulit ng registration ng isa pa niyang sasakyan ay muli na naman siyang nabigyan ng penalty.
Dahil dito, sinabi ni Arranza na hindi kaya ng kanyang konsensya na hahayaan na papasanin ng mga may-ari ng mga sasakyan na sumusunod sa batas ang pagkukulang ng ahensya.
“I could have let it pass the first time I went through this harrowing experience. But when I went through the same disturbing process again during the renewal of registration of my other car, it was the clincher that made me decide to challenge the constitutionality of the MMDA traffic policy. In my conscience, I cannot allow the law-abiding vehicle owners, to carry the burden of a government agency’s inefficiency,” dagdag pa ni Arranza.
Matatandaan na ang ‘No Contact Traffic Apprehension’ ay isang polisiya na suportado ng resolusyon ng MMDA na nilagdaan ng mga alkalde ng Metro Manila.
Nakasaad dito na ang paggamit ng CCTV, mga digital camera o iba pang gadget o teknolohiya na kumuha ng video at larawan ng mga nahuhuling sasakyan na lumalabag sa batas-trapiko.
Sa ngayon, nanawagan si Arranza sa mga kapwa vehicle owner na may kaparehong karanasan na samahan siya sa kanyang paghahain ng reklamo laban sa MMDA.
