PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar on Sunday maintained a very transparent and graft-free procurement of their Body-Worn Cameras in which the force managed to save P45 million to buy modern CCTV system for the organization.

He issued the statement amid reports circulating on social media about the alleged corruption regarding the procurement of the BWCs by the police force, supposedly coming from the office of Senator Manny Pacquiao.

“Nakarating sa aking tanggapan ang kumakalat na alegasyon sa social media sa diumano’y anomalya sa pagbili ng PNP ng body cameras. We are currently coordinating with the office of Sen. Manny Pacquiao to verify if he indeed mentioned the PNP in his alleged list of corrupt government agencies through the procurement of the body cameras,” Gen. Eleazar said.

Gen. Eleazar maintained the purchase of the BWCs by the PNP was very transparent and graft-free.

“Ganunpaman, I assure our kababayan na walang nangyaring nakawan ng pondo sa transaksyong ito. Fully-accounted ang perang inilaan ng Kongreso sa pagbili nito at sa katunayan ay nakatipid pa nga ang PNP ng mahigit P45 milyon sa transaksyong ito at ang natipid na perang ito ay inilaan na sa pagbili ng mga high-definition CCTVs na siyang gagamitin sa aming operasyon kontra insurgency at terorismo,” he said.

Gen. Eleazar explained that the fund that they saved from the procurement of the body cameras, amounting to a total of P45,111,006.28, was combined with the P19,429,717.08 savings from the recent improvement of the PNP Command Center to procure a CCTV Rapid Deployment System for around P60 million.

He added that the CCTV Rapid Deployment System will be used in counter-terrorism operations anywhere in the country.

It is composed of 10 deployable CCTVs with Artificial Intelligence, video management system, 10 CCTV mobile trailers and 10 generators. Each camera of the CCTV Rapid Deployment System can be loaded with 200 pictures of wanted criminals and terrorists.

The delivery of these items are expected to be completed this month.

“If indeed Sen. Pacquiao said that there was corruption in the procurement of bodycams, we would appreciate if he could provide us the details and I assure him that we would look into it,” the PNP chief said.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon