MMDA will use traffic cams to spot litterbugs, too
MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III —INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) may start using artificial intelligence (AI) cameras to flag improper waste disposal in Metro Manila under the agency’s No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) beginning next week, MMDA general manager Nicolas Torre II said on Thursday.
This came a day after Torre said the NCAP will soon extend to monitoring littering through the use of closed-circuit television cameras. The NCAP currently flags traffic violations on major roads in Metro Manila.
“After one week, we may start implementing this program using cameras, and we will send notices of violation to erring individuals,” he said.
While Torre said that many local government units (LGUs) already implement policies on proper waste disposal, the agency’s initiative is meant to help instill discipline in the public with the use of AI cameras.
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“Just because there are no enforcers, you can do what is wrong. We just want to make sure that we are implementing laws uniformly and consistently using the technology,” he said.
Not for surveillance
Violators will be meted out first, second, and third offenses, with the amount of fines depending on the policies of every LGU, he added.
According to Torre, AI cameras are programmed to detect if an individual disposes of trash in improper places. If the violator is aboard a vehicle and the incident happens along Edsa (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue), the cameras will flag the vehicle details to identify the violator.
AI cameras have also been installed near creeks, so details of captured violations will be sent to the respective barangays to identify the offenders, he said.
“We are not doing this for surveillance purposes. We want to implement the law equally, so if you do nothing wrong, you have nothing to be scared of. But if you did something bad, there would be consequences,” said Torre.
This initiative, he added, should help mitigate flooding during the rainy season, with the MMDA collecting around 7,000 tons of garbage from creeks every year. /cb
