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CEBU CITY, Philippines — The use of drones will soon be integrated into the crime prevention program of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7).
Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of Police Brigadier General Jerry Bearis, the PRO-7 director, said they hope to have drone patrollers in all police units in the region.
A designated personnel coming from each of these police units will be trained to operate the drone as part of crime deterrence.
But first, each of the police units will have to secure a drone for their use.
Pelare said that since its purchase is not included in their current budget, they encourage the different police units in the region to solicit the assistance of their respective local government units.
PRO-7 will be the one to set the specification as to the kind of drone that they will have to buy.
“…ang intention is all units should have their drone patrolling unit. Katong training nga gibuhat for drone patrollers sa first batch, it was represented by all police units sa Central Visayas,” Pelare said.
“Ang atoa ani is everyday [mag] drone [patrolling] kada unit to check the peace and order situation. Nindot ni siya, for example, you can anticipate traffic congestion and in hot pursuit operations to complement our units on the ground,” he added.
Pelare said the use of drones in crime prevention was proven effective during the Sinulog 2023 celebration in January.
However, PRO-7 currently has limited access to drones.
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