A lawmaker on Tuesday urged the leadership of the House of Representatives to prioritize the passage of the “Body Cam Bill” or a proposed law seeking to install body cameras on police officers to record the events in cases of abuses.
Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon said his House Bill 2741 or the “Body Cam Bill,” once enacted, shall serve as “neutral eyewitness” to protect the targets of operations from possible abuses and guard police operatives from trumped up charges.
“Having video recordings of operations will serve the interests both of policemen and the public they come into contact with,” Biazon said.
“Many policemen have also been victims of trumped up charges of abuse against them, just as members of the public have been victims of abusive law enforcers,” he added.
This developed as Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to arrest the three police officers involved in the killing of Kian Loyd delos Santos.
“With the President’s order to arrest the officers involved, we are reassured that justice will be done to the family of Kian…We support the President’s order and we ask him to see to it that justice is meted out to the police involved,” Atienza, a House deputy minority leader, said.
Atienza also reiterated his call for immediate reforms in the police system and for the return of police control to local authorities to put a stop to the abuses of the police.
“It’s time to look at the condition of the Philippine National Police (PNP) today. The death of 17-year old Kian Delos Santos is but one in a string of killings in the course of allegedly legitimate police operations as part of the government’s war on drugs. It seems that the PNP is turning into a syndicate of killers, victimizing small time drug pushers,” Atienza said.
Atienza, a former mayor, batted for the return of police control to the Mayors to ensure full accountability in lieu of the present national setup where, he said, “abusive and rogue cops do not seem to be accountable to anyone.”
“I clapped and celebrated when President Duterte announced that he is for the return of the two-layered police system—one local and one national like it used to be. We may not even have to amend the Constitution to do this. The President may issue and executive order to implement a slow transition to the former setup,” Atienza said.