The Philippine National Police (PNP) has received additional 60 body-worn cameras (BWCs) which will be used as to document police operations in its bid to strengthen transparency amid allegations of human rights abuses that hounded the police organization in the past five years.
The donation of the BWCs was a result of the appeal of PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar to the Public Safety Savings Loan Association Inc. (PSSLAI) after the BWCS procured by the PNP through congressional funding only benefited 171 city police stations and offices nationwide.
"To the PSSLAI Board of Trustees down to their management and personnel, we profoundly express our sincerest gratitude for the kind gestures you provided and may this social responsibility that you embrace continue to motivate other people to do the same for the sustainability of our PNP’s programs and projects,” Eleazar said.
The donated body-worn cameras, according to Eleazar, will be distributed to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Anti-Cyber Crime Group (ACG), Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG), PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) and PNP Integrity Monitoring Group (IMEG) to strengthen their investigative capability in all their operations and investigation of cases.
In June this year, Eleazar ordered the immediate distribution of 2,696 BWCs as part of his initiative to reform the organization amid allegations of human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings.
But their use was delayed since the PNP still waited for the guidelines from the Supreme Court in order to settle the issue of privacy. The guidelines were relesased the following month.
Eleazar, however, said that the PNP needs 30,000 more BWCs to cover all police stations and units of the police organization nationwide.
Aside from the 60 body-worn cameras, the PPSLAI donated one unit of brand-new Toyota Innova, ten computers, 13 printers, 11 scanners, three shredders and one
“The continuous support of the PSSLAI to the PNP is a clear proof that they have been with us in achieving our goal of not only improving our operational capability but also to improve our services to the Filipino people because this what police service is all about—to win the trust and respect of our kababayan,” he said.