San Juan dad urges businessmen to put up CCTV cameras

A San Juan City councilor warned owners of pawnshops, internet shops and other businesses to install monitoring cameras or closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in their establishments or face fines and jail time.

Councilor Dante Santiago said businesses such as gasoline stations, money transfer centers, bill payment centers and supermarkets – which attract criminal elements – should not endanger their clients by putting off the installation of CCTV cameras.

He and Councilor Rolando Bernardo have authored a proposed measure, Ordinance 64, to make it mandatory for businesses to install CCTV cameras.

They said robberies and burglaries “could be somehow prevented and perpetrators could easily be identified if CCTV cameras were installed inside the premises of various financial institutions, making it easy for police investigators to illustrate how a crime was committed and maybe help them identify the perpetrators.”

Ordinance 64, which is scheduled for deliberation by the City Council next week, requires all business establishments in the city to preserve daily video recordings for at least 15 days.

The two councilors said that offenders may be fined P5,000 and have their business permits suspended.  – Jose Rodel Clapano