ILOILO City – Despite a Supreme Court order and a Philippine National Police (PNP) mandate requiring body-worn cameras (BWCs) in major operations, only four police units in Western Visayas have access to the devices, leaving most of the region’s more than 130 stations without this critical transparency tool.
The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) confirmed that just 83 BWCs are currently in use across the region, far short of the number needed to cover all city and municipal police units.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered law enforcement personnel to wear body cameras during arrests and other high-stakes operations to ensure transparency and accountability. The push for mandatory use began in 2017 after the killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
PRO-6 spokesperson Police Major Lailyn Sencil said the existing cameras were issued by the PNP National Headquarters (NHQ) and the regional office — 43 for the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO), 29 for Malay, Aklan (which covers Boracay Island), seven for Roxas City Police Station in Capiz, and four for Passi City Police Station in Iloilo.
“We have no data if lower units procured their own BWCs, but they are allowed to purchase their own or receive assistance from their respective local government units,” Sencil clarified.
She stressed that the PNP mandates the use of BWCs in critical operations such as serving arrest and search warrants, anti-illegal drug operations, checkpoints, interdiction, and crime-in-progress responses.
“These devices are accountability mechanisms. They assure our people that our operations are carried out with integrity and transparency,” she said.
The cameras, which are waterproof and can record for up to eight hours, cannot be tampered with by officers while on duty.
Sencil said they provide real-time documentation, serve as solid evidence in court, protect police from false accusations, and allow thorough evaluation of operations.
Still, the limited number of BWCs remains a concern. With only 83 cameras available for the entire region, hundreds of police stations remain uncovered.
Sencil reminded officers: “The use of body-worn cameras is our commitment to transparency and accountability. It protects us from false accusations, strengthens our cases in court, and assures the public that every operation is carried out with integrity and respect for human rights.”
Before Negros Occidental and Bacolod City were transferred to the newly created Negros Island Region in 2024, PRO-6 had reported 240 body-worn cameras in 2023, most of them deployed in Negros.
Under Supreme Court guidelines, failure to use body cams does not automatically invalidate an arrest, but evidence collected during a search may be deemed inadmissible if no body cam or alternative recording device was used without valid reason./PN
