Unified 911 emergency hotline system is now live —DILG

The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Thursday said Filipinos in emergencies can now dial only one number, “9-1-1,” for urgent help with the launch of the single hotline system across the country.

“Today, we have one number and that's 9-1-1,” DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said in his remarks during the launching ceremony at the PLDT office in Sampaloc, Manila.

Before the Unified 911, Remulla said there were over thousands of hotline numbers that Filipinos call when they are in emergency situations.

“We had 35 local government units with their own numbers. We had the Philippine National Police. We had the Bureau of Fire Protection with another 200 numbers. Then we had 40,000 barangays,” he said.

He said seven additional call centers in major areas nationwide will be established within 120 days. Each will operate with 240 active call center agents per shift.

The hotline for police, fire, medical, or disaster response will now be routed through a single integrated network linking the PNP, BFP, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and local governments.

According to the DILG, the service for the 911 emergency hotline is free, available 24/7, and language-sensitive covering Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Waray, Tausug and other Philippine languages. 

“The target response time is five minutes, with trained call takers ready to calm and assist callers in crisis," the DILG said.

“By minimizing delays and coordinating responders, the hotline gives families confidence that they are safer at home, in the streets, and in every barangay,” it added.

However, Remulla admitted that reaching mountainous or remote areas remains a challenge.

“Ang target namin is five minutes pero siyempre ang Pilipinas naman kung pupunta ka ng General Nakar, Quezon na 80% na bundok may mga lugar na mahirap marating. Eventually, at full blast, Metro Manila takes less than five minutes, provinces take about eight minutes,” he said.

(Our target is five minutes but of course there are places in the country, like General Nakar in Quezon which is a mountainous area, and other hard to reach places. Eventually, at full blast, Metro Manila takes less than five minutes, provinces take about eight minutes.)

Remulla said phase one of the program has a budget of ?1.4 billion.

Prank callers

The DILG warned prank callers to stop abusing the newly launched Unified 911 System, stating that they may regret it if a real emergency arises and their calls are no longer answered.

Remulla said the system is equipped with technology to detect and block numbers used for bogus calls.

“Sa mga nagbo-bogus call dito sa 911 baka pagsisihan n'yo 'yan sa dulo kasi kung kayo ay may tunay na emergency baka hindi na kayo puntahan, hindi na tanggapin ang tawag n'yo. So huwag n'yo na subukan kasi kung kamag-anak n'yo ang may problema parehong telepono gamitin mo, hindi ka na papansinin ng 911,” he warned.

(To those making bogus calls to 911, you might regret it in the end because once you have a real emergency, the system will no longer accept your call. Don't even attempt because if your relatives have an emergency and they will use the same number you used for making bogus calls, you will be ignored by 911.)

On the day of the launch alone, the Unified 911 system received around 58,000 calls, of which 60% were bogus.—AOL, GMA Integrated News