Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 21) — The Makabayan bloc filed a resolution calling for a House investigation into the delayed procurement and use of police body cameras whose budget of ₱334 million was approved back in 2018.
House Resolution 1480 dated Jan. 18 stressed the importance of documenting police operations, citing two recent killings where state forces were involved. It mentioned officer Jonel Nuezca’s shooting of mother and son Sonya and Frank Anthony Gregorio that was caught on video by a witness last month. The incident sparked nationwide outrage, renewing calls for justice on other victims of extrajudicial killings, and those who were killed in police operations without video footage.
The resolution also noted the killing of an indigenous group’s members during a police and military operation on Panay Island three weeks ago.
Calls for the use of body cameras have been in place since 2017 after the controversial deaths of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos and 19-year-old Carl Arnaiz without sufficient evidence, amid the administration’s strengthened war on illegal drugs.
The police were given the budget to buy body cameras in 2018 but the purchase was delayed due to an extortion case. In December 2019, they were awarded ₱289 million to acquire the cameras. As of last month, more than a year since the contract, police said the procurement is still “in process.“
