MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police deployed its recently-procured body-worn cameras to quarantine control checkpoints implementing the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila.
Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP chief, said in a statement that those deployed were among the BWCs that were distributed to various police units of the National Capital Region Police Office in May this year.
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"Our personnel on the ground have been dealing with a large number of people on a daily basis since Day One of the ECQ on August 6. These body-worn cameras will serve as the constant reminder for them to be courteous at all times and at the same time, their protection against claims and allegations of abuses,” said Eleazar in Filipino.
"It is also important to use our body-worn cameras regularly to get used to not only our police officers who will use them but also our commanders in the aspect of command and control and our other personnel who assigned to technical assistance in using them."
SC requires bodycams when serving warrants
Though the body cameras have been distributed among border-manning personnel, it is yet unclear if cops will be asked to wear them while supervising checkpoints. The rules promulgated by the Supreme Court governing the usage of body cameras and other alternative recording devices only require their usage during the conduct of search and arrest warrants.
The rules took effect last month, with the PNP admitting there weren't enough body camera units for its forces. Eleazar at the time vowed that police "will find ways" to follow the rules despite the pronounced dearth of equipment.
Eleazar has long touted the 3,000 BWCs procured by the PNP from budget allocations in 2017 as the answer to lingering questions over the PNP organization's integrity amid cases of killings and alleged human rights abuses.
READ: PNP investigates alleged police shooting of man in Marinduque | Internal Affairs Service to investigate police shooting of 2 Albay activists
PNP chief supervises body camera command center
On Monday, August 9, Eleazar personally supervised the command and control of the use of BWCs of police officers manning and supervising the quarantine control points that were set up at the boundaries of Metro Manila.
The Command Center was at the Camp Crame in Quezon City, where technical experts of the PNP receive live video feeds of the BWCs on the ground.
“Through real-time videos that we capture at various borders of Metro Manila including traffic situations at QCPs, commanders are assisted for any security adjustments and it is also quickly communicated to our personnel below for immediate implementation,” said Eleazar.
After several delays, these BWCs were delivered early this year and Eleazar, after his assumption as PNP chief, immediately ordered their distribution to various police units, mostly in Metro Manila and other cities and urban areas in the country. — Franco Luna