MANILA – The Quezon City government now requires higher definition cameras for closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems in business establishments.
Mayor Herbert Bautista on Monday signed an ordinance, prescribing minimum CCTV specifications to help in the peace and order campaign, as well as crime investigations in the locality.
Authored by Councilors Anthony Peter Crisologo and Ranulfo Ludovica, City Ordinance 2695-2018 amends Ordinance 2139-2018, or “An ordinance mandating business establishments operating within the territorial jurisdiction of Quezon City to install Closed-Circuit Television System (CCTV) and prescribing penalties for violations thereof.”
The newly-signed ordinance prescribes minimum technical specifications of CCTVs to be installed in establishments, pursuant to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 2014-119.
The ordinance provides that the CCTV cameras should have a minimum resolution of two megapixels, must be able to capture video footage at 0.5 Lux Illumination, have auto-iris (either fixed or vari-focal) and infrared light-emitting diodes (LED) powerful enough to reach a distance of at least 20 meters for clear recording at 0.1 Lux (for areas where there is no sufficient lighting).
It added that the cameras must have at least 70 degrees lens angle and outdoor cameras must have vandal-proof weatherproof casing.
The local measure noted that the video recorder cameras should have a minimum of four camera input, a minimum of 720p video resolution, and 25-30 frames per second (FPS) recording per camera.
They should also have hard disk drive/s with enough capacities to store videos recording for at least one month, including time stamping features, and interface for storage back-up.
For establishments, the ordinance requires that there should also be at least four cameras to be positioned in so-called areas of risk and transactions.
The ordinance stipulates that one of the cameras should also be facing the street from the entrance, with the actual number of cameras depending on the size of the establishment and nature of business.
The CCTV systems also should have centralized power supply for the video recorder and cameras, appropriate Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to provide standard and reasonable back-up power to the video recorder and its cameras.
The ordinance said the systems should also have a standard compression of H:264, MJPEG; Open Network Video Interface Forum (ONVIF); accessible network; Smart phone or tablet supported for on-site viewing and Power over Ethernet (POE) enabled.
It added that the cameras should be installed at a secured location with maximum area of coverage. Recorders must be mounted on a secured location to protect the footages from theft and destruction while back-up files should be stored in DVD disk for archiving.
At the same time, dummy CCTV cameras should be installed in conspicuous areas to deter possible criminal acts and to protect real camera and their video footages.
No business permit or permit to operate shall be issued or renewed unless the requirements have been complied with.
Any establishment in operation that is found to be violating the ordinance shall be fined with PHP5,000. (Perfecto Raymundo, Jr./PNA)
