Remulla laments wasted flood control funds; says it could have funded P20B hi-tech school CCTV system
By Chito Chavez
The budget for the anomalous flood control projects could have gone to put up the P20 billion state-of-the-art CCTV system in all schools nationwide, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic’’ Remulla said.
“If in the Philippines we put up an entire CCTV system that is comparable to the best in class in the world, it would cost us maybe P20 billion to put (up) an entire (CCTV school) system. And imagine if you didn't have the flood control (irregularity), they could have put it there,’’ Remulla said.
In the first year alone, Remulla said that the government probably needs to spend up to P5-B for the CCTV schools in the entire country.
Remulla shared this assessment following the series of cases of violence in schools, the latest being the August 18 at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU) shooting incident where two senior high school students including the gunman were killed.
With the spate of school shooting incidents, Remulla strongly urged legislators to pass a legislation that would make illegal possession of firearms a non-bailable offense.
In appealing for Congress to amend Republic Act 8294, Remulla claimed that 98 percent of gun-related crimes were committed with “loose firearms.’’