Taguig LGU said it repeatedly tried to get patient's exact address from 911

The Taguig City government said it repeatedly tried and failed to get the exact address of a person in a medical emergency from the Unified 911 system, Unang Balita reported on Monday.

In a viral social media post, the patient’s family said they spent around 10 minutes calling 911 but received no response.

When someone finally answered, the caller said, they were asked to wait and heard laughter from the other end of the line.

According to the Unang Balita report, the Taguig City government said that Unified 911—the national emergency hotline under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)—is separate from the city’s direct emergency hotlines.

The LGU said the Taguig Command Center repeatedly contacted 911 because the emergency call did not contain the exact address needed to locate the patient.

"Ang address na ibinigay ng 911 sa Taguig Command Center ay lot at block number lamang—walang street address o landmark man ang," it said.

"Paulit-uli na sinubukan ng Taguig Command Center na makuha mula sa 911 ang kumpletong address ng pasyente, subalit hindi naibigay ang mga kinakailangang detalye para matukoy ang eksaktong lokasyon ng pasyente."

(The address that 911 gave to the Taguig Command Center only had the lot and block number. It did not provide a street address or even a landmark. Taguig Command Center repeatedly tried to get the patient's complete address from 911, but it was not able to provide the needed information to pinpoint the patient's exact location.)

Taguig responders sent an ambulance to the Barangay Maharlika Hall to locate the patient’s home.

The patient was eventually brought to the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital using a Patient Travel Vehicle (PTV) from the barangay after the family sought assistance, the LGU said. Barangay responders also reportedly helped during the incident.

The city expressed its condolences to the family of the patient, who passed away in the hospital. — Joviland Rita/BM, GMA News