Duterte to biz owners: Hand over CCTV footages
October 13, 2014 at 02:05pm
The mayor issued the statement after he learned that one of the complaints of the police authorities is that business owners are reluctant to provide CCTV footages when a crime happens whether within or near their establishments.
In his television program "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa" on Sunday, Duterte made it clear that the CCTV footage is not private property because it is intended to protect the people and properties against crime in accordance to the law.
"I am talking to you as a lawyer not a mayor. There is law requiring business establishments with a certain amount of investments to have CCTV camera. The purpose of the cameras is really to help prevent crime from happening or at least to minimize it," Duterte said.
"What is the purpose of your (business establishments) camera if we cannot solve the crime? It might be privately owned, but once you allow the public to conduct its business it becomes a public issue. And so, the CCTV footage you have is exempted from the laws of privacy," he added.
Duterte instructed anew the business owners to cooperate and give access to the police authorities.
He also advised the business establishments' security managers should decide to release their CCTV footage instead of their national office so that the authorities can easily review the footages.
"The reason you placed cameras there is because of the desire of the government to protect the people. Karon if di na nimo ihatag sa police, you are suppressing the evidence. Second, if makasibat ang tao unya dili madakpan ug ma-prosecute, you become automatically an accessory to the crime," Duterte said.
"Why you become the accessory to the crime? It is because you make it possible for those criminals who were captured by your cameras to go scat free. It's like you are allowing any crimes here. And as a mayor, masuko ko. I will cancel all your business permits ug ipasara nako imong tindahan because you are a criminal," he added.
Duterte reiterated that keeping the CCTV footages from the police authorities is tantamount to being an accessory to the crime.
He said, "There's a crime in the Revised Penal Code, though anyone might not be a participant of the crime, but if you make it easy for the criminals to flee, you are automatically an accomplice."
Source: sunstar.com.ph
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