THE Philippine National Police (PNP) headed by Lieutenant General Vicente D. Danao Jr. has welcomed a Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) policy which will prevent owners of business establishments from getting their permits from local government units if they won’t install upgraded Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) systems.

The top cop has long maintained that state-of-the-art CCTV systems help prevent and detect crime and more importantly, reassure the public about community safety as they provide evidence needed in any police investigation.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, Major Gen. Felipe R. Natividad fully backed the DILG directive which he said will be of great help in ensuring public safety, deterrence of crimes, and in the identification and apprehension of suspects.

“We are fully aware that almost all of the cities within Metro Manila have existing ordinances pertaining to this concern, hence, we beseech all local execs to fervently implement said issuances over our commitment to work with them all the way. Yung sa mga wala pa ay napapanahon na upang sumabay tayo sa paglago ng teknolohiya. Kung ang mga kriminal ay high tech mas lalo dapat tayong maging high tech pa sa kanila,” the NCRPO chief said.

Maj. Gen. Natividad said he has instructed all his ground commanders to provide their LGUs a list of establishments in their areas which do not have operational CCTVs yet for appropriate action.

The PNP leadership has long batted for the installation of CCTV systems, described as the ‘ultimate witness’ provided that they have high-resolution that can lead to the identification of any lawbreaker or determine what exactly happened in an area where the CCTV camera is installed.

The DILG last week called on all local government units to impose a ‘no CCTV, no business permit’ policy in their areas.

DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año urged cities and municipalities to enact ordinances prescribing the installation of CCTV systems as a requirement for the issuance of business permits to establishments catering to a large number of customers, and to those which are risk or hazard-prone.

The DILG chief, also concurrent chairperson of the National Peace and Order Council, said that as people return to their pre-pandemic ways, public safety must be a priority of LGUs and “CCTVs are applicable technologies that should be utilized to keep criminal activities and their perpetrators at bay.”

“Ngayon ang tamang panahon para i-require ang mga negosyo na mag-install ng CCTV. People are going out of their homes and in various establishments nowadays due to lower COVID-19 cases and a CCTV system is a powerful tool that can aid LGUs in ensuring public safety, deterring crimes, and identifying and apprehending culprits,” he said.

Through DILG Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2022-060, Sec. Año said that among the establishments that should have CCTVs are financial establishments such as banks, pawnshops, money lenders, and money remittance services and the likes; business establishments with several branches and chains; shopping malls, shopping centers, supermarkets, wet markets; and, medical facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and laboratories.

Places of entertainment such as theaters, movie houses, perya, internet cafes, arcades and other areas that draw a considerable number of customers; airports, public transportation terminals, parking lots and other similar establishments that cater to a large number of vehicles; car dealerships, gasoline stations, vehicle maintenance/service stations; and other similar business establishments deemed necessary by the LGU should likewise have CCTV cameras, the official added.

UPGRADED CCTV SPECIFICATIONS AND LOCATION

DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said CCTV cameras must meet the upgraded guidelines set by the national government and the DILG. “We encounter instances wherein audio or video quality make it hard to discern offenders, which is why we are urging the LGUs to set up upgraded CCTVs for the peace of mind of our fellow Filipinos,” he said.

As recommended by the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, the required CCTV cameras should have the minimum specifications of a high-definition analog or at least a 2-megapixel digital camera; 0.1 Lux Minimum Illumination; 2.88mm to 3.6mm focal length; Auto Iris focus lens; 1/30s to 1/50,000s shutter speed; pan and tilt adjustment of 0 to 180 degrees and rotation adjustment of 0 to 360 degrees; and Vandall proof for outdoor cameras with IP 66 Weatherproof casing, among others.

For audio and video input, CCTV cameras must be hybrid type “that accepts both Analog and Digital signal” with a minimum of four camera inputs; video and audio stream input; H.264 Video Compression and G.711u audio compression; and, a hard disk drive storage system that can record 40 days for DVR with four cameras at 1080p. Meanwhile, 720p or 1080p resolution video/audio output; 3 FPS; and, at least 10 megabytes per second Video Bitrate and at least 64 kilobits Audio Bitrate are required for video and audio output.

Other specifications include a centralized power supply for the video recorder and cameras; and, an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to provide standard and reasonable back-up power for the Video Recorder and Cameras.

In terms of installation, cameras must be installed at a secure location with maximum area of coverage of entrance and exits and areas of transaction or risk making certain that there are no blind spots. Recommended recording distances should be 10 feet (3 meters) and above for general surveillance; 5 to 7 ft (1.5 to 2 m) for facial recognition; and 3 to 4 ft (1 to 1.2 m) for plate recognition in parking lots and must be mounted at secure or concealed locations to avoid deliberate tampering.