“Can body cams prevent explosions?” he asks
By Mar Gabriel
Eagle News Service
Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa on Thursday defended the national police force’s decision to prioritize the procurement of bomb-sniffing dogs over body-worn cameras.
Dela Rosa issued the statement after Senator Ralph Recto criticized the PNP’s move.
“Can you prevent an (improvised explosive device) from exploding with a body worn camera? No. but you can prevent that with bomb-sniffing dogs. That’s important,” Dela Rosa said.
He said the 48 K9 units they procured, which costs P545,000 each, were a priority given the threat of ISIS and terrorism in general.
He said in terrorist attacks, many lives could be taken.
“Delikado yung mga airports natin kung yung ating (Aviation Security Group) ay walang mga bomb-sniffing dogs na magbabantay sa ating mga airports,” he said.
According to Dela Rosa, this was not to say that they would no longer be procuring body-worn cameras.
He said by June, all drug enforcement units within the PNP would have the devices.
“Bibilisan namin yan. Hindi kami nagdilly dally dahil the more na wala iyan, the more uneasy mga kritiko namin. We want to let the critics feel they are being considered para sa kabutihan, hindi lang sa kanila
kung di sa amin,” he said.
On Tuesday, Recto told the PNP there was a need to expedite the procurement of the body-worn cameras for use in anti-drug operations.
He said Congress had already allotted P334 million in the 2018 national budget for the devices.
