CEBU, Philippines - Talisay City Vice Mayor Alan Bucao must be grinning from ear to ear up till now.
Detractors had once scorned him for sponsoring a resolution that sought P25 million for the purchase of 10 CCTV cameras to be installed in thoroughfares and in areas where business thrives.
Last week, the police identified robbers that struck in barangay Tabunok with the help of a CCTV camera.
Bucao said he is now reaping the benefits of the modern surveillance camera.
He said the CCTV camera in Tabunok helped the police identify two men who pounced on a woman who was at the time depositing P30,000 money at a bank in Tabunok.
With the use of the CCTV gadgets, the woman positively identified the suspects.
The police are now looking for the two men.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors.
It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point to point (P2P), point to multipoint, or mesh wireless links.
In an interview with reporters, Bucao said that earlier this month, its winning bidder, the Automated Technologies Incorporated, installed a CCTV camera under the Tabunok overpass.
The cost of the camera, including its monitor, transmitted and recording system, cost about P3.1 million. Another CCTV will be installed the Bulacao.
The modern CCTV equipment, Bucao said, has the ability to record the daily activities in the city street for 30 days within which it will start a new recording of new events.
The monitoring center is located at the ground floor of the city hall.
In the city, it is mandatory for business and commercial establishments to install CCTV systems.
Under the ordinance, it requires all owners of city-based business establishments such as banks, malls, gasoline stations, supermarkets, pawnshops, money-changers, 24-hour convenience stores, schools, fastfood restaurants/quick service restaurants, and car dealerships to install surveillance cameras within their respective premises to deter lawlessness.
The failure to comply with the new law would mean penalties: warning for the first offense, a P2,500 fine for the second offense, and P5,000 for the
third.
Establishments which handle extensive monetary transactions amounting to the exchange of goods or services, a minimum capitalization of P1 million as per record submitted to the Business Permit and Licensing Office, will be required to have CCTVs. (FREEMAN)