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Police officers who participate in drug busts must be made to wear body cameras, so that a video recording of the operation will aid in prosecuting suspects, commend deserving officers, and deter those caught, and their coddlers, from bribing their way to freedom.

The call was made by House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto who said that “a widely available and affordable device which is the camera” can preserve “a hard to refute documentation” of drug arrests. 

“Whether the narcotics seized weigh one kilo or one ton, a video recording is the best receipt there is,” Recto said.

“Mainam kung may resibo na mahirap ipagkaila. ‘Ika nga, ‘may bodycam sa katawan at may dashcam sa sasakyan,’“ Recto said.

He said in piecing together an operation, authorities should stop relying on “lamppost CCTVs” and instead source the footage from equipment they carry before, during and after the operation.” 

The presence of bodycams, he said, would serve as deterrent against any attempt by suspects and their backers to buy the freedom of the arrested, Recto said.

It is an “anti-arbor” device, Recto said, referring to the street slang of suspects going scot-free after somebody influential intervened for their release. 

Recto said the PNP has bodycams in their inventory. “Dapat kasama ‘yan sa OOTD ng mga pulis na sasabak sa mga operasyon laban sa droga.” 

He said if it is now “SOP for police officers and police units to blanket their activities with social media reportage, then why is such an important operation be spared of such coverage?” 

“Kung tree-planting at gift-giving ng mga presinto naka-Facebook Live, bakit ang paghuli ng mga salot sa lipunan parang walang ganung coverage?”