ORANI, Bataan- Bataan Provincial Governor Albert S. Garcia along with the Metro Bataan Development Authority (MBDA) officially launched on Thursday, the No Contact Apprehension Program (NCAP) along the Roman Superhighway to apprehend erring motorists and monitor the observance of traffic rules and regulations as the province experiences an influx of round-the-clock motorists traversing the main thoroughfare
“We officially launch this breakthrough, visionary program to assist our municipalities, cities, and their respective traffic enforcers in monitoring the observance of traffic rules and regulations and to apprehend reckless motorists that traverse within and through Bataan province,” Gov. Garcia stated.
Other officials also attended the event including Vice Governor Cris Garcia, Bataan 2nd District Rep. Joet Garcia, Pilar Mayor Charlie Pizarro, Limay Vice Mayor Richie David, Provincial Administrator Geoff Loyola and transport group leaders.
Recent data gathered by the MBDA states that the 68-km Bataan Superhighway has recently been experiencing an influx of large vehicles that transport goods and cargo within the province, surrounding areas, and to the Freeport Area of Bataan dubbed as the largest, fastest growing Freeport in the Philippines.
These motorists are said to be notorious for “overspeeding” and not observing lane markings as they transport heavy goods to the economic zone around the clock.
“We are proud that our province is the host of the fastest growing freeport in the country, however we cannot sacrifice the safety of Bataeños who share the road with traversing motorists with the help of NCAP, we are provided with a layer of safety in ensuring that those who do not follow traffic rules in Bataan will be apprehended and educated to curb the presence of reckless drivers plying along our roads,” Garcia added.
The NCAP program utilizes cameras with state of the art artificial intelligence technology that can accurately capture the conduction sticker and plate number of erring motorists through the information database of the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
When the system detects a violation, a Notice of Violation will be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle upon review and approval of the Bataan Traffic Adjudication Board (BTAB). This document will include the place and time a violation was committed along with the corresponding fine to be paid.
“Contactless na po ang ating panghuhuli sa mga traffic violator ngayon Wala na pong kinakailangan na makipag talunan sa ating mga traffic enfocer kasi kamera na po na 24 oras ang paghuhuli ang ginagamit ng probinsya Asahan niyo po na pag hindi po sumunod sa batas trapiko, notice of violation (NOV) po ang matatanggap,” MBDA General Manager Christopher F. Pizzaro adds.
Bataan Province is the first provincial govemment to implement the NCAP which has previously only been launched in cities such as Parañaque, Valenzuela, Manila, Cauayan, and more recently Quezon City.
The implementation of NCAP is in line with Garcia’s thrust to implement smart technology solutions in Bataan to elevate the region to a world-class province.
“This is a program that Bataeños can be proud of. Your local government now implements this breakthrough technology to ensure that our citizens are safe regardless if they are the driver of the motor vehicle, a commuter, or pedestrian Inaalagan po namin kayo at sinisigurado po namin na ang mga iresponsableng mga nagmamaneho ay hindi makakalusot sa ating mga daan,” Garcia concludes.
Presently, the Bataan or the Roman Expressway has 100 CCTV cameras installed by the MBDA in strategic areas and this new system will initially install 16 more advanced CCTV cameras.