New CCTV cameras were installed in an electrict post across Cebu City Hall annex building and the various parts of the city by the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) for dissaster preparedness (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA).
Cebu City to fully implement CCTV ordinance
THE Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) of the Cebu City government has been ordered to crack down on establishments which are not compliant with City Ordinance 2381, requiring the installation of CCTV cameras.
Councilor Dave Tumulak, head of the council’s Committee on Public Order and Safety, said business establishments in Cebu City should already have working closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
City Ordinance 2381, authored by Councilor Sisinio Andales, was approved by the council in January, 2014 but the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) was only approved last January by then acting mayor Edgardo Labella and published in newspapers last April 14.
The 120-day grace period given for establishments to install their CCTV cameras, has also lapsed last August, according to Tumulak.
The BPLO, which is under the City Treasurer’s Office is the designated implementing office.
“We urge the public, especially the establishments to already install CCTV cameras especially now that safety and security are very important. It will also help us in our campaign,” said Tumulak.
Under the approved IRR, establishments required to have CCTV cameras including banks, money changers, lending institutions, jewelry and pawnshops, gas stations, internet shops, private schools, factories, privately owned wet and dry markets, hotels, motels, inns, travel agencies, coffee shops, junk shops, terminals, retail establishments with annual gross sales of not less than P5 million, shopping malls, privately owned paid parking lots and private hospitals.
CCTV cameras should also be installed in the entrance or exit gates of residential subdivisions and condominiums in the city.
Violators will be fined P2,000 on first offense, P3,000 for the second offense and P5,000 for the third offense, including closure of the business establishment or revocation of the development permit of the residential subdivision or condominium.
The IRR also states that owners and managers of business establishments and the president of developers are mandated to keep all surveillance tapes for at least 30 days, after which, they can discard the tapes if they want or continue to keep them.
They are also required to turn over the tapes to the police or other law enforcement authorities in case a crime happens within their area or vicinity.
It is also prohibited to publish or publicly reveal the tapes and other information in it without a court order.
“Semi-annual unscheduled inspections will be conducted to ensure that the CCTV system is functioning and operational,” the IRR reads.
The IRR also provides the following minimum specifications for the CCTV system : one dedicated channel per camera, 640×480 pixel resolution recording level, recording speed of not less than 30 frames per second, sufficient memory to retain data for at least 30 days, time-stamping feature, retrieval and viewing functions while in operation, provided with an uninterrupted power supply system, data and captured images or footage can be stored on digital, optical or magnetic media for evidentiary purposes.