Solon wants to require vehicles to have dash cams, other recording devices

MANILA, Philippines — A bill requiring various types of motor vehicles to install dashboard cameras and other recording devices has been filed at the House of Representatives.

Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao filed House Bill No. 4475, or the Motor Vehicle Digital and Electronic Recording Systems For Road Safety and Security Act, seeking to mandate motorists to install government-certified systems to record digital and electronic data on vehicle operation, navigation, traffic, and in-vehicle safety.

Below are the list of the basic set of devices:

• one dashboard camera that has video resolution of at least 1080 pixels, has night vision mode, and is forward-facing for the street-view orientation
• a second but rear-facing camera with the same features as the dashboard camera
• a visual display
• a battery and motor vehicle power adaptor
• a data storage device
• a built-in global positioning system (GPS) feature

Other devices could also be required depending on the kind of vehicle, Siao said.

Under the measure, motor vehicles with four wheels or more that are authorized to ferry passengers as a public service need to install at least one other video camera inside the vehicle to record whatever happens inside. This is aimed to deter crime. Installing a third video camera to record the rear view of the vehicle is also required.

For private vehicles, the installation of more than one video camera inside the vehicle is optional, except when the vehicle frequently has passengers or drivers who are minors, in which case a second video camera is required to be installed.

Meanwhile, for motor vehicles with three or fewer wheels, the motorists could either install a digital video camera recorder on the driver’s helmet which much be worn at all times while driving, or a digital video camera recorder mounted on top or front side of the vehicle.

Passenger buses and other large vehicles must install GPS devices to enable the owners or operators to track the movements of their vehicles.

The bill also prohibits individuals from posting on any social media platform, recording for personal purposes, or sharing through electronic transmission of video and data recordings depicting and involving passengers but without any incident pertaining to any road safety issue, traffic situationer, or occurrence of a possible crime recorded.

It also gives a three-year period for motor vehicle owners to comply with the measure’s provisions should it be enacted into law.

“We recognize that it is impossible for all the vehicles to comply in one year considering there are millions of them nationwide. This compliance period is for all the vehicle owners, manufacturers, and dealers nationwide,” Siao said in a statement.

The measure also mandates the National Privacy Commission (NPC), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to formulate and approve “strict rules and regulations on the installation and inspection of video and data recording systems in motor vehicles, and the recording, safekeeping, storage, and public use of all video and data recordings of such systems.” /je