Cop's advice: Call police stations instead of 117

MANILA, Philippines - Admitting the interior department's "117" hotline is still not capable of handling a large volume of emergency calls, the public may be better off calling their local police stations instead for emergency cases during the New Year revelry. Metro Manila police spokesman Superintendent Rommel Miranda said callers may find no one answering the "117" hotline immediately because the system can handle only a few calls at a time. "Ilan lang ang capacity at naka-cue ang mga tawag. Hinihintay na pumasok sa operator na naka-assign (The 117 hotline has a very limited capacity. The calls are cued until an operator becomes available)," Miranda said in an interview on dwIZ radio. Miranda made the admission after dwIZ radio made a test call to the "117" hotline and no operator answered the call. He said there had been plans to expand the system but the interior department is still waiting for funds. In the meantime, Miranda encouraged the public to use the direct lines of their nearest police stations. "Hindi pa ideal ang 117 tulad ng sa 911. Ang sistema natin still needs a lot of improvement (Our 117 is a far cry from the 911 in the United States. Our system needs a lot of improvement)," he said. In the case of the Metro Manila police, Miranda said the public can call its operations center at 8383354. - GMANews.TV