SC mulls use of body cameras when serving warrants

MANILA – The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it is considering requiring the mandatory use of body cameras for law enforcers serving court warrants.

“The Court today considered a proposal to require the use of body cameras for law enforcers who will execute warrants to be issued by the trial courts,” the SC said in a statement sent to newsmen.

The proposal was taken up in the discussions under proposed Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, the SC said.

Last month, the Philippine National Police (PNP) started its training on the use of body cameras as part of efforts to ensure accountability in law enforcement operations. Members of the National Capital Region Police Office were the first to undergo training at their headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

Under the PNP plan, each police station would be given 16 body cameras, eight of which will be used by patrolling operatives while the remaining eight will be reserved for other operations.

The cameras will also be equipped with SIM (subscriber identification module) cards that would be used to feed videos to the PNP Command Center.

The body cameras are waterproof and can record video for up to eight hours. The officers wearing them cannot interfere with the configuration and cannot turn them off until they go off duty.

The PNP has acquired around 2,696 body-worn cameras and their associated systems from San Juan City-based EVI Distribution Inc.

As for operations protocol, Col. Benjamin Santos, PNP Command Center chief, said the cameras can be used not only for illegal drug operations but also during other law enforcement operations.

They are set to be distributed to all police stations nationwide by the end of March and can be used by police officers starting April.