Davao
City is set to install additional 130 close circuit television (CCTVs) worth
P100 million in its bid to reach its goal of up to 300 CCTVs all over the city
in the future.
“The
cameras which will be designed by IBM will be installed for protection and
traffic management,” Public Safety and Security Command Center Chief, Retired
P/Chief Superintendent Francisco Villaroman said during the iSpeak Media Forum
held at the Davao City Hall Thursday.
He
said there are at present around 130 CCTV cameras all over the city. These and
the additional ones will ensure that the urban centers and the main
intersections are properly covered, he said.
“We
really need the CCTVs to be up especially in time for the Kadayawan,” he said.
The Kadayawan Festival will kick off on August 9 and will culminate on August
17 and 18.
However,
he said, the new cameras will be installed on installment basis. The executives
from IBM Manila were in the city Wednesday and met with the Abratique Group to
coordinate the installation of the CCTVs, he added.
Villaroman
said these are no ordinary CCTVs because these are sophisticated and
multifunction cameras that can be used as evidences in court later on for
traffic violation or even criminality. “The CCTVs are so sophisticated that if
we are looking for a certain vehicle color, it will be easy to monitor all
vehicles with that specific color and we can check their plate numbers,” he
said.
The
new CCTVs will make Davao a model around the world when it comes to these types
of cameras, he said. This is also the first time that IBM will design such a
camera and not even Makati has this type of camera, he added.
Once
the additional CCTVs are fully installed, he said, we will request more IT and
engineering personnel to man the center which is now operating on a 24-hour
shift with 12 hours each shift. Villaroman said there is a plan to still
operate 24 hours but on three shifts, with 8 hours per shift to make the people
more efficient in monitoring the cameras.
