MMDA unveils its newest communications command center equipped with various technologies to boost security and surveillance in Metro Manila on Wednesday, July 12. (Photo by Zacarian Sarao)
MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday unveiled its newest communications command center (CCC), utilizing various technologies to boost Metro Manila surveillance and security.
During a speech at the inauguration of the CCC in Pasig City, MMDA acting chair Don Artes said that the command center would serve as the “nerve center” of local government units in Metro Manila.
“This is a major step sa MMDA na gawing isang safe and smart metropolis ang Metro Manila sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng mga smart technologies at data analytics upang makatulong sa pagpapalago ng ekonomiya at pagpapatibay ng seguridad sa bansa,” said Artes.
(This is a major step for the MMDA to make Metro Manila a safe and smart metropolis by using smart technologies and data analytics to help grow the economy and strengthen security in the country.)
The CCC includes several facilities, such as an operations center equipped with video walls, a data center, a situation room, a viewing gallery and a power room.
Artes said that through the command center, the MMDA currently monitors 403 “high tech” CCTV cameras in vital roads and infrastructure projects in Metro Manila, while another 638 CCTV cameras are still being installed in different Metro Manila cities, and 166 more at the Edsa Bus Carousel alone.
In a press briefer, Artes told reporters that the MMDA’s CCC also boasts itself as the country’s most advanced yet cheapest command center, with only P300 million used for the entire project.
“Lahat ng nakapunta dito, including isang kumpanya ng telecommunications, nagsasabi na for that price, isa na ito sa pinakamura, kasi ‘yung laki niya and features ay talagang state of the art,” said Artes.
(Everyone who has been here, including a telecommunications company, says that for that price, it is one of the cheapest because its size and features are state of the art.)
Artes then vowed that the MMDA would continue to develop information and communications technology projects in Metro Manila, including the installation of a 45-kilometer fiber optic cable to integrate local government units (LGUs) CCTVs with the command center, as well as the procurement of artificial intelligence programs for vehicle classification, car counter, license plate, and facial recognition.
Old command center to be used as backup
With the opening of the CCC, the MMDA’s old command center will then be used as a backup center and will also be shared with other agencies, namely, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) according to Artes.
“‘Yun pong ating old command center will be retained as a redundancy, may mga kausap na po kami na isshare po namin siya sa OCD-NCR, and the NTF-Elcac… maglalagay po [sila] ng tao doon to monitor the situations in Metro Manila, ganoon din po iyong NCRPO,” Artes told reporters.
(Our old command center will be retained as a redundancy, we are talking to people that we will share it with the OCD-NCR, and the NTF-Elcac… [they] will put people there to monitor the situations in Metro Manila, the same goes for your NCRPO.)