Rama backs security cameras

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he supports the ordinance that requires business establishments with closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs).

Rama said that CCTVs, which document vehicular accidents and identify perpetrators of a crime, is already a worldwide phenomenon.

The mayor said the city “does not have enough policemen and that security measure should be prioritized.”

Councilor Sisinio Andales proposed an ordinance that requires businesses with an initial capital of P5 million to install CCTVs within their premises especially along their exit and entrance corridors.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said there are cheap CCTVs that could be bought at P25,000, which include four cameras.

He said the CCTVs in his office worth P42,000 already has eight cameras.

However, the third reading of the ordinance last Wednesday was deferred to next week after Councilor Edgar Labella required the specifications of the specs of the CCTVs.

Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. also said an earlier ordinance that requires business establishments to light their premises at night is not even fully implemented.

Rama said the ordinance would be easier to implement if the installation would be a prerequisite for the business permits.

“Pwede man na nato buhaton pero ayaw lang mo pag dali (We could do it, let’s just not rush),” he said.

Rama said businesses that could afford should invest on CCTVs.

He said he could tap the assistance of the City Treasurer’s Office, which visits establishments to check on their book of accounts, in monitoring the compliance of the ordinance.

Another option is to tap the help of the barangays, which receive allowances from the city, since they have more access to these business establishments.

In Lapu-Lapu City, barangay Maribago approved on first reading the ordinance that requires commercial establishments to install CCTVs within their premises and provided penalty for its violation.

Barangay councilor Arvin Abing, the author,  said the barangay would also ensure that the basic rights of an individual to privacy would not be curtailed./with correspondent norman mendoza