TALAVERA, Nueva Ecija – Mayor
Nerivi Santos-Martinez has sought the allocation of P2 million for the purchase
of close circuit television (CCTV) cameras to arrest the rising tide of crimes
and improve the overall peace and order situation in the town.
In
a press briefing, Santos-Martinez said she has requested the Sangguniang Bayan,
led by Vice Mayor Anselmo Rodiel III to earmark the amount for the acquisition
of eight CCTVs to be installed in strategic places in the town amid the recent
spate of killings.
Santos-Martinez
said the high-definition, wireless surveillance cameras will help immensely in
improving the peace and order situation. “With these CCTVs, we expect to be
able to solve and deter crimes,” she stressed.
The CCTVs, which
will be interconnected through a central monitor, are also expected to advance
the Philippine National Police’s quick dispatch, rapid response and better
coordination, particularly during emergency situations, enhance monitoring of
crowd movements and spot crime suspects.
The P2 million
is contained in a P120-million loan application the municipal government is
seeking with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to finance its various
development projects included in the Annual Investment Plan for 2014.
Santos-Martinez
has asked the SB to pass an ordinance authorizing the proposed terms and
conditions from the LBP.
Earlier, the
mayor expressed her dismay over five unsolved killings which took place last
month and urged the town police chief, Superintendent Reynaldo dela Cruz to run
after the perpetrators of these crimes.
Among the
unsolved killings were those of two vendors whose bodies were found inside the
public cemetery last January 21, the shooting to death of a 71-year-old widower
at Zone 5, Pag-asa District last January 18 and the gunslaying of a 62-year-old
barangay kagawad in Barangay Mabuhay last January 5.
Santos-Martinez
said in the scale of one to 10, she is giving dela Cruz a grade of 5 to 6 for
his failure to solve these crimes. She said the municipal government is also providing
the local police with a patrol car to improve its mobility in running after
criminal elements.
The
municipal government’s plan to acquire CCTVs to combat crimes is apart from an
earlier proposal of the provincial chapter of the League of Municipalities of
the Philippines
to set up the surveillance cameras in some 600 barangays of the province for its
crime-busting drive.
Last
August, Penaranda Mayor Ferdinand Abesamis, LMP provincial chapter president, said they will
work on the proposal starting in his hometown where they are eyeing to set up
CCTVs in nine barangays.
Last
April, Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali sought the installation of 10 CCTVs in strategic
locations in the province to keep watch over criminal elements round-the-clock
and boost security, particularly in the run-up to the May elections. – Manny
Galvez
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