A photo of a white surveillance camera hanging on the wall. | Photo by Alan Hendry/Unsplash
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The robbery that occurred at a coffee shop along Salinas Drive in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City last Tuesday, October 31, alerted one of the councilors in Cebu City.
Fortunately, the incident was caught on closed circuit television (CCTV) and went viral on social media, which allowed the police to track the robbers that led to their arrest.
According to the report, the footage showed two males approaching the cashier of the coffee shop and after some time, the individual wearing a white hooded jacket pointed a gun at the cashier while his accomplice acted as the lookout.
The assailants reportedly managed to take with them the money from the cash register and a customer’s jacket and bag.
Consequently, Councilor Rey Gealon filed a resolution on Monday, November 6, requesting an office and an organization for the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV), as he acknowledged the importance of CCTV in businesses.
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“The copy of the surveillance footage played a significant role in the arrest of the suspects, as the police received information from concerned citizens and a few of the suspects’ acquaintances upon seeing the footage,” Gealon said.
He added that installation of CCTV in business establishments is of great importance to help prevent the commission of crimes.
Gealon, in his proposed resolution, requested the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) to install CCTV.
In his request to the BPLO, Gealon requested them to encourage the business owners to install CCTV in their business premises.
Meanwhile, in his request to the CCCI, Gealon encouraged CCCI’s members to install CCTV with memory storage for at least 60 days in their business premises.
“With the resurgence of theft and robbery incidents in and around the city, there is a need to reinvigorate our call for vigilance and pro-activism among our constituency,” Gealon said in a statement.
He added that there is a need to have operational CCTVs with sufficient memory storage, not damaged or deteriorated, installed in business establishments that are prone to the commission of crimes like robbery.
“Like in the recent robbery, the CCTV footage was necessary and crucial in identifying the culprits and eventually solving the case leading to its successful prosecution,” Gealon said.
His proposed resolution will be presented during the council’s regular session on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
/bmjo