I guess a lot of motorists in Metro Manila now know about the new ticketing system implemented by the MMDA centered on their Metropolitan Traffic Ticket (MTT). Now MMDA officers will no longer confiscate drivers’ licenses and drivers will no longer waste hours going to specific MMDA redemption centers to pay the fines and retrieve their licenses. Instead, drivers can pay their fines at any Metrobank branch within seven days of the ticket’s issuance.

But what most motorists don’t know is that the fines and penalties are much, much higher.

My friend and I got a shock when he was pulled over for counterflowing along Santolan Road going to EDSA. Do you know what the penalty is for counterflowing? A 2,000-peso fine and three months driving suspension! Unbelievable. The MMDA officer showed us the list of traffic violations and the corresponding penalties and we discovered that the fines are much, much higher (the cheapest, I think, is 500 pesos) and some of the violations have suspension as part of the penalty.

While the non-confiscation of the driver’s license and the ability to pay the fine at any Metrobank branch at your convenience is good, I am appalled by the stricter penalties! I’ve been ticketed twice long ago and the highest fine I had to pay was 150 pesos.

So what’s the lesson? I guess, never counterflow unless authorized.