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Lawmaker eyes IT-based modernization for PNP, BFP

By Filane Mikee Cervantes

July 14, 2020, 6:17 pm

<p>Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo</p>
<p><em>(Photo courtesy of Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo's Facebook page) </em></p>

Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo

(Photo courtesy of Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo's Facebook page) 

MANILA – A lawmaker at the House of Representatives is eyeing to file a bill that would modernize the information technology (IT) systems of both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

In a statement, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo said the proposed IT-based modernization to improve the country’s crime and an emergency response would complement the recently-enacted anti-terrorism law.

“For crime enforcement, we need a system that would readily provide a single, flexible collaborative environment that would assist law enforcement, defense, government agencies, and commercial private sector businesses to disrupt criminal, terrorist, and fraudulent activities,” Arroyo said.

Arroyo said a reliable IT system could serve as a basis for more informed decision making by identifying when pertinent operational data is available or altered for improved reaction times.

“There has to be a ready and on-demand access to and analysis of knowledge, information, and intelligence products for enhanced situational awareness. This, in effect, would simplify the creation of complex questions on analysis repository data with human-led visual queries,” Arroyo said.

He said the proposed system would also save the government additional expenses, as it would reduce training overheads by removing the need to learn complex query languages.

For emergency responses, he said it would be best for the BFP to handle such situations, adding that the bureau should also be equipped with an IT-based system with all pertinent data.

“It’s like in the 911 television series we used to watch wherein a caller dials 911 to report an incident and the operators can see the status of individual operating assets at a glance,” said Arroyo.

Arroyo noted that with a new IT system, the operator can simply access an icon in his or her monitor while attending to the call to quickly see a variety of information about the asset and to manage key asset conditions.

He said the operator, from his asset panel, can view nearby cameras, call up information unique to the asset (such as a floor plan), see whether there are active threats in effect, change how its state is shown in the display, and otherwise have available at a glance a summary of operational information about the asset.

“For now, this may seem to be a bit complicated. But that is precisely why we need to look for the most reliable IT-system provider that would meet these requirements,” Arroyo said.

“Not only because everyone and everything is going digital but acquiring such a system would greatly enhance our crime and emergency responses,” he added. (PNA)

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