Davao to install 130 more CCTV’s worth P100M in time for Kadayawan

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.

Davao CCTVs fail to monitor fleeing kidnap gang due to wrong info

The remaining 10 members of the “Bye-Bye” kidnap-for-ransom-gang which evaded the authorities after a shoot-out in C.M. Rector Avenue Thursday may have already left the city, although no one knows for sure.

Two of the gang members were kicked on the spot outside Allied Bank while another one died on the way to the Southern Philippines Medical Center. The fourth member is now in the custody of the authorities but ten more are on the run and the authorities have no idea where they were headed after the shootout.

“Unfortunately the witness gave the people on the ground wrong information as to the description of the vehicles so our cameras were not able to monitor them,” Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) Chief, Retired P/Chief Superintendent Francisco Villaroman said during a press conference Thursday.

Villaroman said a CCTV was installed right in front of the area where the shootout happened. However, he said, “hindi pa nakakabit ang monitor when the incident happened so we cannot really see.”

He said the witness, who was still in shock after the incident, gave the wrong color and type of vehicle so the cameras nearby and along the way were not able to zero in on the appropriate getaway vehicle.

The authorities earlier asked the public to watch out for Montero vehicles with plate number FBU 1238. However, he said, the kidnappers are not stupid enough to use real plate numbers which the authorities can easily flag down during their trip from Manila to Davao.

“But Dabawenyos should not be scared because the kidnappers are actually based in Central Luzon and in Manila, not in Davao,” he said.

Villaroman said they have received a phone call asking for assistance but he did not elaborate on this, saying that giving away more information may warn the kidnappers. He also reiterated that the authorities are not allowed to conduct an illegal search so what they follow is the Plain View Doctrine.

The kidnap-for-ransom-gang was in Davao with their victim Sally Chua, to withdraw the P15-million ransom money from the bank but the authorities were able to intercept them.