BACOLOD City Mayor Greg Gasataya has ordered the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) to activate all the city’s installed security cameras in various areas.
Gasataya said that since he assumed office in July 2025, many of the security cameras installed in various areas, including major thoroughfares, were not functioning after the DRRMO transferred its command center from the Old City Hall building to Barangay Taculing.
He added that the city had installed at least 120 security cameras since the time of former Mayor Monico Puentevella.
As of Wednesday, October 29, 2025, Gasataya said at least 30 security cameras were already functional.
The mayor noted that some of the non-functional security cameras require a power connection, and the City will coordinate with the Negros Electric and Power Corporation to restore their operation.
Aside from the city’s High Data Project, Gasataya said it is currently important to activate the existing security cameras for traffic monitoring, as well as crime and emergency response.
In March 2025, former mayor and now Congressman Alfredo Abelardo Benitez signed a 10-year build-transfer-maintain agreement with High Data Infra Corp., led by its representative Danny Fernandez, for the P2.105-billion Bacolod Super City Project.
The project will be implemented in phases this year, with the first phase focusing on e-governance as the most feasible for immediate execution.
It will also include the establishment of a command center infrastructure and the deployment of intelligent street lamp poles equipped with dynamic cameras for traffic and people monitoring, flood surveillance, and HuliCam portable cameras.
Gasataya said the initiative is a vital solution for boosting the city's anti-crime drive and improving overall public safety and emergency response. (MAP)