THE UST campus is now equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras as school facilities were renovated under a yearly summer maintenance program.
Facilities Management Office Director Fr. Roberto Pinto, O.P. said his office is also planning to install CCTV cameras inside buildings, aside from road intersections across the campus.
“The recordings of the camera cannot be erased. Rather hi-tech, it can be used for police work as well as surveillance.” Pinto said.
Security Office chief Joseph Badinas said the surveillance cameras will ease their security operations easier.
“If there is a crime happening, we can easily gather information,” Badinas said. “However, security officers need to have proper training on how to use this [technology].”
The monitoring room for the CCTV cameras might be installed in his office.
The total cost of the twelve CCTV cameras set up across the campus amounted to P3 million, Pinto said.
The first batch of cameras is a “dry run” since they have not yet been officially ordered, because electrical components needed to be fixed first.
Meanwhile, several buildings were renovated. In St. Raymund’s Building, which houses Faculty of Arts and Letters and College of Commerce and Business Administration, most classrooms were repainted.
The painted glass panes of the classrooms were replaced with reflectorized glass windows.
“The glass panes have become brittle over time that the slightest contact might shatter the window,” said Artlets Dean Michael Anthony Vasco. “This will also give a corporate look to the building.”
The building’s audio-visual room (AVR) was also transferred to the second floor from the ground floor.
Vasco said the AVR was converted to classrooms while rooms 210 to 216 were renovated to become new AVR.
“The wisdom behind the [transfer of the AVR], is because every rainy season, the first floor gets flooded. So it is not wise to put an audio-visual room in the first floor. It will damage the electrical system and the equipment of the lecture hall,” Vasco said, apparently referring to the onslaught of cyclone “Ondoy” last September when the campus submerged in a waist-deep flood.
The Father’s Residence and the Main Building also had renovations.
Pinto said the cost of the renovations amounted to more than P60 million.
“Most of the projects were done last May 31. But some of the projects cannot meet the deadline because they started late.” Pinto said.
A portion of the four-percent increase in tuition fees for school year 2010-2011 is allocated for maintenance work.
Pinto said the Quadricentennial is just partly the reason for the renovations, adding it has been a regular routine for campus improvements to be made during summer. Jonas Eleazar B. Trinidad
