CCTV cameras now a must for businesses in San Juan City

The San Juan City government is now requiring business establishments, particularly those handling financial transactions, to equip themselves with security cameras and other surveillance systems before the end of the year.

City Ordinance 7, Series of 2013, mandates business establishments, specifically banks, pawnshops, money changers, convenience stores, gasoline stations, money transfer centers, bills payment centers and supermarkets to operate video surveillance and monitoring systems not just inside their stores but also in the surrounding areas.

The ordinance, enacted by the San Juan City Council and approved by Mayor Guia Gomez earlier this year, noted that “incidents of robberies and burglaries have recently been hogging the news and have even resulted in the loss of innocent lives.”

It added that these crimes could somehow be prevented by the installation of surveillance and monitoring systems in business establishments which would make it easy for the police to monitor and investigate crimes.

The ordinance required these business establishments to install not only plain security or closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, but also equipment that would allow the storage of camera footage, transmission of footage to remote video monitoring stations and the triggering of alarms.

“The daily video recordings must be stored and preserved for a minimum period of at least 30 days for review purposes and reference unless its preservation is required by a court order, by the police or the city mayor,” it added.

Businesses which fail to comply with the ordinance will be meted out a P5,000 fine, regardless of how many times they violated the ordinance. However, on the first offense, owners of the establishments will be required to attend a security remedial seminar.