Body cameras for BI personnel eyed by yearend
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said that it is planning to have its officers equipped with body cameras by the end of the year to ensure accountability and transparency in airports.
“This is to ensure accountability sa atin pong tauhan, particularly sa paliparan – similar po sa ibang bansa mga law enforcers nila, they have body cameras kung saan po rinerecord ‘yung mga pangyayari sa entire duty,” said BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing.
(This is to ensure accountability among our personnel, particularly at the airports – similar to other countries, their law enforcers have body cameras where they record the events during their entire shift.)
Sandoval explained that the body cameras would have a “live-streaming feature” which would allow the agency to monitor its personnel on the ground.
“Maiiwasan po natin mga complaints about illegal actions ng mga employees o hindi naman kaya mabuting pakikitungo ng ating mga empleyado. These are all recorded and can be used in investigations,” said Sandoval.
(We can avoid complaints about illegal actions by employees or not being treated well by our employees. These are all recorded and can be used in investigations.)
Sandoval said that the BI is aiming to equip its personnel with the body cameras by the end of the year as it is already in the process of procuring the devices.
E-gates
Sandoval also bared that the BI has resumed its procurement of electronic gates for the country’s international airports.
“For the next few years, as a medium-term project of BI, ang goal is palitan ang 50 percent ng operations natin sa mga paliparan ng electronic gates. By 2026, ang target ay 50 percent electronic gates na,” said Sandoval.
(In the next few years, as a medium-term project of BI, the goal is to replace 50 percent of our operations at airports with electronic gates. By 2026, the target is 50 percent electronic gates.)
E-gates, which will replace its manual counters at the airports, is expected to increase the efficiency of BI operations and to speed up the processing of travelers.
