Metro Manila cops to use body cameras starting February: PNP

MANILA – Police officers in Metro Manila would be the first to use body cameras and its associated equipment that were acquired by the Philippine National Police (PNP) starting next month, a ranking police official said on Thursday.

In a phone interview with reporters, PNP director for logistics, Maj. Gen. Angelito Casimiro, said the body cameras and associated equipment need to be configured and equipped with internet connectivity before these can be used.

“We will start with the NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office). Right now, the configuration works conducted by the PLDT is at 65 percent. We hope they complete this by the end of January,” Casimiro said in Filipino.

Casimiro noted that they are looking at distributing the body-worn cameras in 44 sites in Metro Manila where these will be connected to a data management center located at the NCRPO tactical operations center.

“We are planning to have a one-day seminar for this. Our police officers will be briefed on the protocol and who will be given access to it,” he explained.

He added that they will also be taught how to present in court pieces of evidence from the body cameras.

He pointed out that what is left to be done is the “reconfiguration and final configuration” of the system at the PNP command center in Camp Crame.

The process of distribution, he said, needs to be made on a staggered basis as connecting body cameras that would be delivered to provinces such as Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi to the system is difficult due to connectivity issues.

In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, former PNP chief and now Senator Ronald dela Rosa chided the PNP over the supposed slow delivery of the body cameras, which he said are essential in conducting anti-drug operations.

Casimiro said all 2,686 body cameras and their associated equipment have already been delivered as of this time.

The PNP has awarded the PHP289-million contract for the body cameras and the installation of its database system to San Juan city-based EVI Distribution Inc. in December 2019.

The deal includes the acquisition of body cameras; accessories; video management software; computer servers; storage and connectivity systems for the body cameras; as well as the establishment of a central data center, a national management and monitoring center, 17 regional monitoring centers, and 81 provincial monitoring centers which would support the systems.

Casimiro, meanwhile, said the body cameras have also passed their water and drop test.

On Wednesday, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana said the police force wants to make sure its entire system for the body-worn cameras works seamlessly before use in law enforcement operations.

“Based on the report of the Directorate for Logistics, the final acceptance of the equipment, since its delivery last September with corresponding functional test and eval (FTE) done last October, will commence after the final simulation and FTE (2nd Stage) on the installed/deployed items and devices,” he said in a message sent to reporters.

The need for the PNP’s procurement of body cameras came to light in 2017 following public clamor over doubts on police officers’ claims that drug suspects killed in their operations had tried to engage them in a gunfight.