By Felipo David G. Malcampo
BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi –
The municipal government here is the first in the Autonomous Region on Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) to have its own closed-circuit television (CCTV), a project,
which aims to create a safer and more investor-friendly municipality in the
southernmost part of the country.
According to Mayor Jasper Que, the town has now 52
operational CCTVs, with a total of 100 cameras to be installed in the municipality’s
strategic areas with a total cost of P4.5-million.
The CCTVs are a realization of the 2014 municipal
ordinance, which aims to make Bongao a safer place so that more investors will
come in.
“We are aiming to be the trade capital of the south,” Que
said, highlighting that security is very important to ensure economic
development.
The mayor, however, admitted that there have been crimes,
which remain unsolved in spite of the presence of eyewitnesses.
“They do not want to talk,” Que shared, explaining that
the residents would rather choose to remain silent than risk their lives as
witnesses.