BAGUIO CITY – Seventy closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed at the central business district as part of the citywide CCTV surveillance system project of the city government.
City budget officer Leticia Clemente said this is part of the first phase of the project which Mayor Mauricio Domogan approved with an initial funding of P12 million in line with the city’s thrust to come up with a unified solution, technology and strategy to improve surveillance and early warning system and facilitate the monitoring and ensure quick response to any type of situations including crimes and other forms of social disturbance in the city.
Clemente said that based on the report of Computer Maintenance Technologist II and assigned project manager Francis Castaneda, the other components of the first phase are also on track.
Castaneda said the other components are the construction of the centralized command center which is now 85 percent complete and the fiber cable trenching or excavation covering 44.7 kilometers to install underground facilities which is now 55 percent complete.
He said initially, only 60 cameras were programmed for installation within the CBD but this was increased to 70 for wider coverage.
“We are making sure that the fiber network infrastructure being installed will be of high quality, efficiency, durability and reliability to accommodate succeeding expansions and to ensure long-term use,” Castaneda said.
The project is envisioned to provide a “pro-active, aggressive and immediate” response to situations of public concern.
The entire system, when completed, will serve as nerve center of all city offices and agencies where all real-time events and information relating to public safety, security and even disaster preparedness can be monitored by a centralized command center and acted upon with dispatch by concerned agencies.
To accomplish this, the city will also lay down the ground works including the executive and legislative foundation for the setting up of the command center to be housed at the Baguio City Police Office to operate the system.
Castaneda said the command center is envisioned to operate in a “coordinative approach method” manned by capable individuals that will implement a “systematic, pro-active, aggressive and immediate” response to any type of situations and emergencies.
He submitted the proposed standard operational framework or standard operations procedure for the proposed Baguio City Public Safety and Security Command Center of the CCTV surveillance system currently under review by Clemente as possible basis for the issuance of an administrative order by the mayor or of a legislative measure by the city council.
Meanwhile, the second phase of the project will involve the installation of more CCTV cameras at the parks and areas near schools and establishments to prepare for the third stage or the so-called “enterprise automation” that will make all the components work as one system by 2018.
With enterprise automation, the city expects to run and maintain all systems including the CCTV footage monitoring, communication, traffic management, disaster preparedness and even criminal intelligence.
Similar facilities are now in place in the cities of Davao, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig and Manila./Aileen P. Refuerzo