PCCI, PNP launch InnoLab
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) threw its full support to the continued digitization and technological advancement of critical police functions, starting with the launch of ICT Innovation Laboratory (InnoLab).
The newly opened facility is a partnership between the PCCI and the PNP Directorate for Information and Communication Technology Management (DICTM).
In his speech at the launch of Innolab, PCCI Chairman Emeritus and Honorary Chair Sergio Ortiz-Luis
Jr. said the new facility will serve as the research and development (R&D) arm of the Research and Development Division of PNP-DICTM.
“We are certain that by using ICT through the InnoLab, we will be able to further reinforce national security, help create a conducive environment for business, and foster an ecosystem of innovation,” he emphasized.
Ortiz-Luis Jr., also the president of Philexport and ECOP, noted that through continuing R&D, the country will be able to advance the readiness of its uniformed men and women and equip them with advanced technology in addressing criminal elements operating in high precision.
Innolab, he added, will likewise “allow us to leverage innovations from biometrics to predictive modelling to cyber-security to create next-generation citizen services around public safety.”
PCCI and PNP’s partnership recognizes the need to utilize emerging technologies such as Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for various applications including, but not limited to, building automation, security and surveillance (including facial recognition), traffic and transportation management (including license plate recognition), disaster management, smart city applications, and ultimately to crime prevention,” Ortiz-Luis Jr. shared.
The PCCI, he said, acknowledges the strong appreciation of the PNP on the critical use of technology to implement the agency’s security and safety programs and policies. “Many serious and organized crimes are increasingly being initiated using technology. Clearly, with the rise of digitally supported criminal activities involving illegal drugs, corruption, fraud, cybercrimes and many others, the further development of the ICT program of our police force will need more technical support and upgrade if it is to be responsive and sustainable.”
Present during the launch of Innolab aside from PCCI officers were PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde; DICTM Director and Police Major General Cesar Hawthorne Binag; DICTM Deputy Director and Police Brigadier General Celso Pestaño; and other officers from the PNP.
It coincided with the 10th Founding Anniversary of the PNP DICTM with the theme “S.M.A.R.T. Policing: Empowering the Police and the Community Through Digital Transformation”.
PNP’s ICT initiative is mainly supported and driven by its ICT Master Plan called S.M.A.R.T. Policing, which stands for Secured, Mobile, AI-driven, Real-time, and Technology-driven policing.
This Master Plan, which contains a four-year ICT Development Roadmap and composed of thirty-seven ICT development projects, shows the organization’s strong effort to equip itself with the fast-evolving technology and the demands and challenges that come with it.