Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 21) — Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel said he wants to look into the utilization of the budget allocated for the purchase of body cameras and if such devices are being used properly following the death of Jemboy Baltazar, the 17-year-old killed by the police in Navotas earlier this month.
PBGen Jose Melencio Nartatez, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, earlier said policemen involved in the incident were unable to present footage during the shooting.
“Imbestigahan pati ‘yan, pati budget na ginastos na diyan sa body cam, magkano ba ‘yan per piece, nasaan ba ‘yan, nasa warehouse lang ba ‘yan, o ginagamit ba ‘yan,” Pimentel told CNN Philippines’ The Source on Monday.
[Translation: We will investigate that including the budget used for the body cam, how much are these per piece, where are these, are these only in the warehouse or are these being used.]
The senator said he would also like to know if the police can turn off the device during operations or if they can delete the footage from the device.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has said that there are only around 2,700 body-worn cameras for its 45,000 personnel. For 2024, it is proposing to purchase only 2,000 body cameras.
Pimentel and Sen. Risa Hontiveros have filed separate resolutions seeking to investigate the death of Baltazar.
In his Senate Resolution 736, Pimentel cited that under the revised operational procedures of the PNP, use of firearms is only justified if the offender poses imminent danger of causing death or injury to the police officer or other persons.
\”A policeman is never justified in using unnecessary force or in treating the offender with wanton violence, or in resorting to dangerous means when the arrest could be affected otherwise,\” he said.
Hontiveros, meanwhile, said in her Senate Resolution 742 that the inquiry will revolve around the PNP’s \”unabated use of excessive and lethal force.\”
