Bayani welcomes legal moves vs MTT

"It’s their right. We are not violating anything since we also have the right to appeal the decision."

This was the reaction of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando yesterday to reports that transport groups are set to ask the Makati City Regional Trial Court (MCRTC) to hold him in contempt for violating a lawful order.

He is being accused of openly going against a ruling ordering the agency and its personnel to stop implementing the Metropolitan Traffic Ticket (MTT) system and the No Contract Traffic Apprehension (NCTA) scheme.

Fernando said transport groups may well exercise their rights to file suits or question whether an order is being followed or being ignored.

But as far as the MMDA is concerned, he believes he cannot be held liable for contempt of court since the legal battle still has a long way to go.

"We have the right to appeal not only before the Makati court but also before the Court of Appeals up to the Supreme Court," he told The STAR in an interview.

MCRTC Branch 145 Judge Cesar Santamaria ordered the MMDA from further implementing its MTT and NCTA schemes, which were tagged illegal because both were not authorized by the Metro Mayors Council (MMC).

The decision was supposed to force the MMDA into going back to using Traffic Violation Receipts instead of MTTs, a single ticketing system for Metro Manila.

Fernando, however, opted neither to discontinue using MTTs nor stop implementing the NCTA, a scheme which arms traffic enforcers with cameras used to capture images of traffic violators particularly along EDSA.

Transport groups, mostly bus operators’ and drivers’ associations, claimed the move was a blatant violation of the MCRTC’s orders.

Fernando disagreed, saying the MMDA still has a lot of legal options and that the May 4, 2005 ruling is not yet final and executory.

"We can’t just leave the streets unmanned," he said while asking motorists not to be misled into thinking that they may now violate traffic laws without fear of being apprehended by MMDA personnel.

Fernando said he has met with most of Metro Manila’s mayors and have discussed issues which they would keep to themselves for the time being.

His critics, led by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, failed to attend the meeting held after the MCRTC issued its controversial decision on a four-month-old case lodged in January 2005 by various transport organizations.

The MMDA chairman said there is no need for him to reconcile with anyone since the MTT and NCTA problem is now before the courts of law.

"The MTT and NCTA issue is beyond us (MMDA) now so what is there to reconcile? It’s now with the courts," he said.