NEARLY 2,700 body cameras have been distributed to various police stations, but they could not be used yet as the Philippine National Police (PNP) was still awaiting the guidelines.
PNP Chief Guillermo Eleazar said he was confident that the 2,696 gadgets would be used within his term.
He said these can also be used in other police operations aside from anti-illegal drugs operations.
The use of body cameras is aimed at ensuring transparency during police operations.
Congress approved a budget of P334 million in 2018 for the purchase of body cameras, in response to the public clamor for transparency following the killing of 17-year old Kian delos Santos.
The Caloocan policemen who shot Delos Santos dead claimed that the boy resisted arrest, but witnesses said the boy was in a prone position and begging for his life when he was shot in the head.
His killing prompted a Senate investigation into extrajudicial killings related to the government’s war on illegal drugs. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)