Government emergency hotlines get prank calls on launch date

The Philippine National Police on Monday officially launched the nationwide government hotline 8888 for citizen complaint and hotline 911 for emergency.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte himself ordered the activation of emergency hotlines nationwide after its success in Davao City, where the President was mayor for seven terms, or more than 20 years.

A report by GMA News' Mariz Umali on Balitanghali said hotlines have been active since 12:01 a.m., with 45 call center agents, and has received a total of 2,475 calls in the first seven hours.

However, only 75 of these were legitimate calls, while 1,119 were dropped calls and 304, prank calls.

PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa personally asked citizens to refrain from using the hotlines inappropriately, as it is meant for urgent attendance to serious emergency situations.

"We are currently tracking the prank callers and we will make sure that you will be unmasked," a PNP statement quoted Dela Rosa as saying.

“I am also appealing to our people to refrain from making prank calls or test calls to our 911 hotline because this will clog up the lines and prevent the people with real emergencies to reach us,” he added.

Calling the emergency hotlines comes with a P5.50 charge until an executive order to make it free has been signed, the same television report said.

As of now, the fee is set to discourage prank callers.

Citizens may expect response in 5-10 minutes after making the call, depending on the situation and traffic.

ADVISORY: You may now call 911 for the emergency hotline and 8888 for the citizen complaint hotline. pic.twitter.com/Kg6DLKFSyA

— YouScoop (@YouScoop) August 1, 2016

Efficiency over time

In the television report, Dela Rosa admitted that the emergency hotline system has yet to achieve maximum efficiency on its first day, but the PNP will continue to be hands-on in ensuring that help will be extended to those with the most urgent needs.

The agency has also reached out to several local government units to assist in the set-up of necessary facilities.

As of posting time, LGUs from Davao City, Taguig, and Marikina have joined forces with the police for immediate response to emergency calls and citizen complaints.

Emergency hotline number 8888 has been institutionalized as an All-Citizen Complaint Center, which is directed to the President himself, on the 24th anniversary of the Police Community Relations Group.

According to Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, the President recognizes the importance of the PCRG-PNP in public service. — Bianca Rose Dabu/RSJ, GMA News