Demand for CCTVs soar in Davao City after blasts

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Dealers of closed circuit TV systems here have suddenly found themselves unable to fulfill demand for the merchandize as orders have suddenly soared in volume during the past days, sources said.

The sudden increase in the number of orders for CCTV systems was brought about by an executive order recently issued by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

“The new order boosted up the sale of CCTVs,” Joyce Ocio of U-High Solutions Inc., one of the CCTV system dealers in the city, said.

Duterte issued the order four days after the explosions at the cinemas of SM City Davao and Gaisano Mall. The order requires all shopping malls and commercial centers to put up “high-end and high-definition CCTV in all entrances and exit points of their place.”

“Davao City is expensive, don’t invest in the city if you can’t afford it,” he said when asked about potential issues arising from his order.

The order even specified that the CCTVs should be positioned “within eye level of a person of an average height to ensure facial and physical identity of everyone who enters or leaves the premises.”

Duterte’s order also required the installation of CCTV cameras in common hallways leading to all comfort rooms of any building in the city, which means that establishments should be buying more cameras this time.

Ocio said they have been having “a hard time coping with the number of new customers after the city has included CCTVs as a new requirement for the issuance of a business permit.”

“Before, we only used to receive a lot of inquiries, but right now, our technical men had to conduct at least four surveys a day,” she said.

Other sources from stores selling CCTV systems agreed with Ocio’s statement, saying they too have started encountering problems in meeting demand

Before CCTV distributors install new units, their technical staff have to survey the area of the buyer first so they could also assess the number of cameras needed to be installed.

Meanwhile, Duterte said he had members of the police’s Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) undergo a two-week training on target shooting to boost the city’s security.

Duterte said a huge part of the P1.2-million training fund drawn from his intelligence allocation would be used to buy ammunition for the marksmanship exercises involving about 200 policemen.

“I just want to make sure that they know how to shoot straight,” he said.

Duterte said he wanted the police prepared to confront terrorists even as he bared that the suspects in the explosions that hit two mall cinemas here on Sept. 16 had ties with terror groups.

It has been confirmed that the suspects – whose number had increased to three – are affiliated with terror group, he told reporters here.

“Their purpose is to destroy and kill, regardless of whether or not they were killed in the mall cinema explosions. The purpose is to sow terror,” he said after presiding over a command conference here last week.

Duterte said authorities has determined the “face and names” of the suspects due to the CCTV images from the two malls.

Supt. Ronald dela Rosa, city police chief, said the CCTV’s refined images also bared the image of the third suspect.

He said the man was seen going in and out of the SM City cinema hall before the entry of the first suspect.

“They were not talking but their movements were synchronized and tended to support the other,” Duterte said.

Dela Rosa agreed by saying that judging from the demeanor of the two men, “their movements appeared to be well-coordinated.”

But Dela Rosa said the third suspect was seen coming back and forth to the cinema, “as if to confirm whether there were people or none.” The bomb exploded at 9:03 p.m. at SM’s Cinema 1 during the last full show, when there were less people around.

At 9:25 p.m., the second blast took place at Gaisano Mall’s Cinema 5.

Dela Rosa said while the police have determined the suspects’ identities and affiliations, he could not make it public yet “so as not to alert the suspects.”

Duterte said he was not giving the police any deadline on when they could solve the bombings.

“We do not give any timeline. It’s a long and winding road, this fight against terrorism,” he said.