CCTV Ordinance passed: Security cameras soon to be a requirement for businesses in Lacion

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — Business establishments within the municipality of Consolacion will soon be required to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

This is after the Consolacion municipal council passed the Comprehensive CCTV ordinance of 2022 of the municipality of Consolacion or Ordinance No. 11 series of 2022 on Sept. 12.

Councilor Fredelino Herrera, chairman of the committee on peace and order, drafted and pushed the ordinance at the town council.

This will also mean that after 15 days of the ordinance’s publication this will be implemented.

Then business establishments in the town with a capital or gross income of not less than P2,000,000 will be required to install CCTVs.

These include financial establishments such as banks, money changers and money remittance firms.

These also include shopping malls, supermarkets, and other similar establishments; hospital and other medical facilities; theaters, movie houses, and internet cafe; ports, public transportation, and terminals; car dealerships, motorcycle display center, and gasoline stations.

Among these are businesses in places in the town that are considered or identified as high-risk areas such as complexes, or places with common business areas.

The ordinance aims to intensify the municipality’s drive to deter, prevent, detect, and solve criminality, and to preserve video recordings as evidence.

Where to install CCTV cameras

Business establishments must install cameras at a secure location with a maximum area of coverage of entrances, exits and areas of transaction or risk. They should also make sure that there will be no blind spots.

Signages indicating that the establishment or area is being monitored by a CCTV System must also be installed in areas that are visible and obvious to the public and must use clear, plain, and concise language.

Establishments covered shall strictly comply with the National Privacy Commission’s guidelines on the use of CCTV Systems, as detailed in NPC Advisory No. 2020-04. 

Video footage obtained through the CCTV systems shall be retained for a maximum period of three weeks in order to allow investigating authorities to properly retrieve and prepare backups of the data relevant to any incidents that might occur. 

Penalties

Concerned businesses that may not be able to comply with this requirement six months from the date of the Ordinance’s effectivity shall not be given a business permit or a permit to operate if they are new business establishments.

For existing businesses, who also will fail to comply with this requirement will not be given a renewal of their business permit.

Businesses are also required to install the CCTVs with the right specifications. If they have already installed one which do not meet the specifications, the establishment will be given a three-year depreciation period of the equipment and after that will be required to install one with the right specifications.

Penalties for failure to comply with the ordinance will cause the business establishment to be fined or at worse cases will have their business permits suspended.

Consolacion is a first class municipality of the province of Cebu. It is approximately 19.6 kilometers north of Cebu City.

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