CCTVs at NRA seen to deter crimes

The North Reclamation Area (NRA) in Mandaue City will soon be equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in a bid to strengthen security and to prevent crimes.

Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing said the reclamation area was not much of a challenge in the past. But with several establishments sprouting in the area, the installation of surveillance cameras is now a must.

"Since we're expecting over the next few years na heavy gyud kaayo ang utilization sa dalan, we'll have provisions to expand their coverage to those access roads,” the mayor said.

The city's ingress point, which is on the stretch of Ouano Avenue, has over two monitoring stations.

Quisumbing said CCTV cameras would also be put up along the stretch of Zuellig Avenue and Mantawi Drive, the private roads of NRA, in the next two months.

"It is time for us to put basic services and good on the ground," he said.

The surveillance cameras are seen to bolster the monitoring of street crimes and help in the immediate arrest of criminals.

In the last three months, the mayor said, robbery incidents have been proliferating in the reclamation area.

The NRA is under the security coverage of Centro Police Station 1 and Subangdaku Police Station 2. But due to its wide area, the policemen are having a hard time arresting criminals.

Aside from the petty crime, Quisumbing said his office has also received reports about the presence of “carton girls” at the NRA every Friday.

Because they can only wander at night, Quisumbing said, the carton girls would cut the wirings of the street lights so that their lewd activities would not be caught.

"We have been converting all of the lights on that area into LED, pero ang grupo sa mga carton girls, they'll cut the plug, the wirings para ma pawong ang suga," he said.

The mayor attributed the presence of carton girls to the ongoing constructions of high-rise buildings along the NRA.

While the city has yet to install its surveillance cameras, the private establishments have agreed to give city government access to their CCTV footages.

Tudtud/KBQ