FIRING LINE: Body cams for airport inspectors

By Robert B. Roque, Jr.

In light of recent scandals involving security officers at airports, here’s an initiative from Bureau of Immigration chief, Commissioner Norman Tansingco, who announced that his agency will be purchasing body cameras capable of livestreaming.

Tansingco’s move to equip secondary immigration inspectors with body cams is a bold move towards transparency and accountability, and it couldn’t be timelier. These body cameras will protect travelers and ensure that immigration officers act within the bounds of the law.

It’s a brave step that will keep even the notorious guards of the Office of Transport Security (OTS) on their toes and thinking, perhaps, a dozen times before gobbling up stolen dollar bills or picking valuables from passenger baggage.

Kudos, Comm. Tansingco. I’m just wondering whether P16 million for these body cameras is really how much all the equipment should cost. Your office would best canvass for a better price.

Abby wants last say

The Binay legacy continues in Makati City in what some would describe as perpetual trouble and controversy. Look, I only brought this up out of frustration that government services are disrupted because Makati and Taguig cannot resolve their differences.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay, of course, wants to halt the local government of Taguig from taking disputed properties, seeking a “status quo ante” order from a regional trial court in Taguig City. But didn’t the Supreme Court already settle this in April? Apparently not, as they argue over who controls what and who provides basic services, e.g., in schools, health centers, etc.

Residents and students in these 10 or so EMBO (Enlisted Men’s Barrio) villages now bear the brunt of this bureaucratic tug-of-war. The High Court’s decision that these disputed areas belong to Taguig should have brought closure. But instead, an endless loop of legal battles is set in motion.

 At the recent FINEX Conference, Mayor Abby told reporters that a new “mass transport system” is in the works for Makati with Philippine Infradev Holdings, Inc., the same project proponent of the 10-station subway link traversing the city and including the EMBO villages.

And guess what? Binay had to mention that while discussions for the new transport system are underway, the subway project is stuck in limbo, with construction ongoing but no plans to include Taguig in the venture. Is it just me, or does this sound like a thinly veiled territorial power play?

Political spin

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte’s defense of confidential funds is getting repetitively annoying. Her willingness to go to great lengths — to insist that her spending millions in secret funds is the foundation of her effective leadership of her two offices — is fueled by dogged determination.

Her political spin on the issue has gone from unreasonable to monumentally ludicrous by framing her critics as having “insidious motivations.” She deflects scrutiny and paints them as unpatriotic threats to national security, turning skepticism into sedition.

The public is interested in transparency, Madam VP. And demanding it from you how advocacy groups do is not unpatriotic, but responsible citizenship.

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