(Eagle News) — Philippine National Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar has ordered the creation of a technical working group that will incorporate the Supreme Court’s recently approved rules for the mandatory use of body-worn cameras during the execution of search and arrest warrants into its guidelines.
In a statement, the PNP said Eleazar ordered the Directorate for Operations and the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) to come up with a recommendation on the composition of the TWG.
The TWG was also instructed to come up with modules that will be used in trainings and seminar programs on the legal aspect involved in the use of the devices.
A total of 2,696 body cameras have so far been distributed to 171 police stations and offices since the PNP launched the system on June 4.
The PNP said it still needs more or less 30,000 devices to cover the entire police stations and units of the national police force.
It has already sought the help of Local Government Units (LGUs) and private individuals and groups for this, with a number of local chief executives, private individuals and groups already signifying their interest to donate.
“The rules on the use of the body-worn cameras crafted by the High Court is (a) big help to erase doubts and speculations in the conduct of our operations, especially in our aggressive campaign against illegal drugs,” Eleazar said.
Over the weekend, the SC said law enforcers should have at least one body-worn camera and one alternative recording device or such number needed to record relevant incidents in the conduct of such operations.
If body-worn cameras are not available, the SC said law enforcers shall file a motion before the court to be allowed to use alternative recording devices.
The SC made the recommendations upon the request of the PNP facilitated by Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo Año and Secretary of Justice Menardo Guevarra.
The SC Rules on the Use of Body-Worn Cameras in the Execution of Warrants will take effect after publication on the Official Gazette or two newspapers of general circulation.
