Sen. Ralph Recto. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
There鈥檚 no need to realign the budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) or other agencies to buy body cameras for policemen, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said on Monday.
Recto said there are already enough funds for body cameras in the 2017 national budget.
Among the possible sources聽 are the Philippine National Police鈥檚 (PNP) P5.36-billion modernization fund, unprogrammed appropriations of the 2017 General Appropriations Act and Malaca帽ang鈥檚 P5.5-billion contingent fund, according to the senator.
Moreover, the PNP has not even spent P3.73 billion under its modernization program, debunking its earlier claim that it has no budget to buy body and car-mounted cameras for this year.
The PNP also received P1.9 billion from the Department of Budget and Management last month for the purchase of various equipment, including machine guns, boats, motorcycles, anti-riot gear, body vests and 鈥渆xplosive detection dogs,鈥� added Recto.
He said the P24.56 million allotted for bomb dogs alone could initially be spent on body cameras.
鈥淚f a body camera would cost P10,000, then it would be enough to equip 24,000 police officers [with the device],鈥� he said.鈥擩OCELYN R. UY