Parañaque solon proposes installation of CCTV cameras inside public buses

Another lawmaker has filed a bill requiring bus operators to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside their units in response to the rise of robbery incidents occurring inside passenger buses.

Under House Bill 3704 or the proposed Mandatory Bus Surveillance Act filed by Parañaque City Rep. Eric Olivarez, all bus firms will be ordered to put up CCTV cameras inside all the buses they operate before being granted a franchise by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

Bus operators with existing franchises will be given three months to comply with the proposed rule.

Aside from installing surveillance cameras, bus companies will be required to designate an employee responsible for monitoring the video feeds from the CCTV cameras inside its buses 24 hours a day and seven days a week to ensure that the firm will be able to alert authorities of an ongoing crime.

Violators face the revocation of their franchise, a P50,000 fine and a possible jail time lasting not more than a year.

Olivarez said in the bill’s explanatory note that the presence of CCTV cameras inside passenger buses might help deter robbers from committing crimes since they know all of their movements are being watched and recorded.

The lawmaker cited news reports showing there have been numerous instances of robbers preying on passengers on board public buses. Some of these incidents, he noted, even resulted in bloodshed.

“These victimized passengers and bus employees are rendered completely helpless and powerless once a crime has been indiscriminately committed against them,” Olivarez said.

In addition to preventing robberies, Olivarez said surveillance cameras can also help the police when they investigate bus drivers or crimes that happened inside the vehicle.

Philip Apostol, managing director of Green Frog Zero Emission Transport, said commuters will have peace of mind when they know CCTV cameras are installed inside the buses they board.

“Kapag mayroong CCTV [sa mga public vehicles], hindi kakabahan ang mga taong sumakay. Kung may mangyari mang krimen sa loob ng sasakyan, may record na makukuha at mas madaling mahuhuli ang mga salarin,” he said in a report aired on “Unang Balita” Tuesday.

Other lawmakers who have proposed similar measures include Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga and Buhay party-list Rep. Mariano Michael Velarde, Jr. — Xianne Arcangel/KBK/JL, GMA News