PNP picks bidder for P288M body cams

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has finally chosen a winning bidder for the body camera system, to be used mostly for anti-drug operations, for P288 million, over a year after the budget was allocated by Congress.

PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen Archie Gamboa said Thursday that it chose EVI Distribution, a San Juan City-based company, for a contract priced at P288,888,888, including taxes, duties, maintenance, and its data system, as the supplier of the equipment.

A total of 2,696 units of body cameras were included in the contract, according to PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac.

Gamboa said the PNP Bids and Awards Committee will assess the required performance security of the winning bidder and conduct final evaluation of the system before the issuance of the supply contract and purchase order this December.

“This system is expected to equip our police units in support to our anti-criminality and anti-terrorism operations including mission-essential equipment for mobility and investigation,” Gamboa said in a statement.

He said that the PNP will not only procure body cameras but also a “sophisticated, reliable, and secure” system which will allow complete system management, real-time live streaming, data storage and backup, and overall connectivity and monitoring of the body cameras.

He added that the procurement includes connectivity systems, accessories, video management software, computer servers, and sufficient storage for the devices.

The National Management and Monitoring Center, meanwhile, will be established as the unified data hub of the system. Personnel from the PNP Information Technology Management Service will man the national monitoring center and its 17 regional and 81 provincial centers.

Calls for the procurement of body cameras first floated in 2017 following the death of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos, who died in the hands of policemen in what police claimed was an anti-drug operation in Caloocan City.

Police said Delos Santos resisted arrest, but a footage from a closed-circuit television in the area showed him being dragged by policemen to a dark alley where he was later killed.

Congress allotted P334 million for the equipment in the PNP’s 2018 budget, but the procurement had been delayed.

The body cameras are expected to ensure transparency in police operations, especially in anti-drug raids and buy-busts.

Edited by JE