The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance allocating PhP1 million from the city government to purchase a military-type drone for the city’s use.
Under the proposed ordinance, the initial amount of PhP1 million shall be allocated to purchase a military-type of drone for the use of the city government.
The ordinance claimed that to effectively provide solutions during disasters or humanitarian reliefs, it is imperative for the body to pass the proposed measure.
The council admitted that drones are available for a variety of applications and can be used for disasters or humanitarian reliefs that can expand to include search and rescue missions, disaster prevention and disaster management, crime scene surveillance, fauna detection, damage assessment, crop and vegetation mapping, among others.
Further, the body pointed out that drone mapping has a wide range of applications like risk reduction management, security and traffic management.
The council asserted that a number of drones are used by construction, humanitarian, health, telemedicine, and public health purposes.
It was emphasized that drones are actually multipurpose in nature and is not limited for a specific function only.
The ordinance stated that the PhP1 million shall be sourced from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office’s (CDRRMO) supplemental budget to purchase that type of drone.
The body explained that in order to ensure its proper use, maintenance and safekeeping, the sole operator of such equipment shall be the personnel of the CDRRMO. By Dexter A. See
