The Philippine National Police (PNP) plans to use close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras from the No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) system to enhance police response and crime prevention.
Nearly 16 years ago, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), then headed by retired police general Roberto Rosales, envisioned an interconnected camera system in Metro Manila to enhance police visibility, deter crime, and improve response time.
Rosales even went to the extent of conducting several simulation exercises to show how beneficial the project would be in terms of peace and order. However, due to lack of funding and support, the project never materialized.
Now, in 2025, the PNP sees an opportunity to realize that vision by utilizing the CCTVs being used to monitor traffic violations under NCAP.
The unexpected success of NCAP’s reimplementation in encouraging discipline among motorists has inspired the PNP to use the NCAP’s CCTVs for the five-minute police response being implemented by national police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Don Artes said they already had an initial discussion with the PNP leadership as to how the police would be given access to the CCTVs for peace and order matters.
“There was already a preliminary discussion on how these CCTVs could be used in the five-minute police response that PNP chief Gen. Torre wants to implement,” said Artes.
A number of CCTVs have already been installed and most of those artificial-intelligence cameras are already working in strategic areas along EDSA, the country’s busiest road.
Artes earlier said that around 1,000 more CCTVs with AI capability will be installed in other thoroughfares in Metro Manila—and those cameras, due to its high-resolution, could even see through tinted vehicles.
Those CCTVs, which are all connected to a command center at the MMDA office in Pasig City, are what the PNP wants to take advantage of to maximize its “eye on the sky” against criminal elements.
While Torre has been encouraging the public to dial 911 for the five-minute police response, he said it would be different in the case of the areas covered by the MMDA’s CCTV system.
“We will have our personnel here, equipped with a radio that is connected to the PNP Command Center so that the dispatch of our personnel on the ground is quick,” said Torre.
Torre expressed gratitude to MMDA for giving the PNP the access to the CCTV system for peace and order purposes. (Aaron Recuenco)
