More CCTV cameras to watch over Makati district

Manila Times/Manila

The Makati City government has installed more Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras around the Central Business District (CBD) to boost security.

Makati Mayor Jejomay Binay said at least 115 new cameras have been installed around the CBD, bringing to 125 the number of cameras being monitored by the Surveillance Unit of the Makati Command Control and Communication (C3) Centre at City Hall.

Binay said the acquisition of new cameras is part of the second phase of the Makati Command Centre Modernisation Programme.

The cameras watch over key areas at the CBD, such as the corners of Ayala Avenue, Makati Avenue, Paseo de Roxas, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue and along the length of JP Rizal St. and Kalayaan Avenue.

A spate of crimes in some areas in the city including Chino Roces Avenue and C5 has prompted Binay to order Makati police chief Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban Jr to increase police visibility.

Lukban said security has been tightened not only in the business district where there is a concentration of commercial and financial establishments, but also on major streets such as Buendia, Chino Roces and Palanan, where chain snatchers prey on pedestrians.

Makati has 520 police officers serving 600,000 permanent residents but the population balloons to 4mn during work days with the addition of tourists and transient office workers.