Marikina chosen as pilot area for ‘Safe Philippines Project’

MANILA, Philippines — Marikina City has been chosen as the pilot area in the government’s program to reduce the crime rate and improve emergency response time with the use of state-of-the-art technology, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said yesterday.

Dubbed the “Safe Philippines Project,” the program initiated by the Department of the Interior and Local Govenrment (DILG) is expected to reduce crime rate by 15 percent and improve emergency response time by 20 percent, according to Teodoro.

The Safe Philippines Project Phase l is a joint project between the Philippine government and China.

Under Phase I, the DILG will provide the 16 local government units in Metro Manila and Davao City with integrated operations and command centers as well as a remote back-up data center.

Davao City was chosen as a pilot project to complement the monitoring system already in place in the city.

Teodoro and DILG Undersecretary for peace and order Bernardo Florece Jr. last week signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that provides a bedrock strategy by introducing a smart solution and system integration to combat crime, emergency management and disaster mitigation to ensure Filipinos’ safety.

Under the MOA, the China International Telecommunication Construction Corp., the contractor of the project, will provide a camera surveillance system for the “efficient management of public order, security and safety” in the country.

State-of-the-art or high-definition IP surveillance cameras, intelligent video analytics such as facial and plate recognition, video content search and synopsis and an integrated critical communication system will be used in the project.