De Lima lauds Senate move to block funding for China CCTV project

PHOTO FROM THE OFFICE OF SEN. LEILA DE LIMA

MANILA, Philippines — Opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Friday lauded the Senate’s decision to block funds for the multibillion-peso Chinese-funded surveillance system project of the Duterte administration that has raised security concerns.

“I commend the Senate for seriously evaluating and reviewing the ‘Safe Philippines’ project and asserting that funds from the taxpayers’ money should not be used to finance it. Not only is the project lacking in transparency, it also poses serious national security concerns,” De Lima, who chairs the Senate committee on social justice, welfare and rural development, said in a statement.

The lawmaker, who earlier sought a congressional investigation into the program, said that in the Senate-approved 2019 General Appropriations Bill, a “block payment” provision for the Chinese-funded project called “Safe Philippines” was included for supposed lack of study and transparency, among others.

READ: Senate blocks funds for China CCTV project

The P20-billion project involves the installation of an initial 12,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) security cameras in public areas in Metro Manila and Davao City.

An agreement between the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and China International Telecommunication Construction Corporation (CITCC) was forged during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in the country last November.

Under the contract, the Chinese multinational telecommunication equipment and consumer electronics company Huawei – whose “integrity was questioned by countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia,” according to De Lima – is tasked to supply the equipment requirements of the project.

Last December, De Lima filed Senate Resolution No. 978 that sought an inquiry into the loan agreement between the DILG and the CITCC, saying it “would infringe on the constitutionally guaranteed right of privacy of the Filipino public and our national security.”

WHAT WENT BEFORE: China CCTV project in PH

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto has also sought an inquiry into the Safe Philippines Project, noting there is a need to mitigate potential risks to national security or public interest.

READ: Recto calls for probe on China-assisted ‘Safe Philippines Project’

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