ILOILO CITY Philippines — The Iloilo city government has installed 62 closed-circuit television (CCTV) in every floor of the seven-story City Hall.
Iloilo Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said the cameras are not only for security reasons, but are also meant to monitor the activities and performance of City Hall employees. In fact, the monitoring room is located just adjacent to his office.
The city government has 1, 500 regular employees and thousands of casual workers.
Aside from those in the City Hall, CCTV cameras have also been installed in “critical areas†in the city.
These cameras are stationed along Plazoleta Gay, the flyover at the University of the Philippines – Visayas (UPV), and at the corner of Quezon Ledesma Street. The cameras are attached to the internet protocol (IP) radio system of Smart Telecom that has given free access to the city government.
Mabilog said all cameras will store video recording 24/7.
He said that since the cameras became operational a week ago, they have helped decongest traffic in busy streets because “we could easily send traffic aides at the area to help ease traffic jams.â€
Mabilog said three more CCTV cameras will be installed soon once the City Council allocates a budget for the purpose. The city is yet to determine the exact places where these will be installed, but the mayor said they will be placed in populated areas or areas where people mostly converge.
The mayor has encouraged 180 villages to install CCTV cameras so officials can easily monitor lawless elements within their areas of responsibility. (FREEMAN)