Emergency? Dial 911 starting August

MANILA, Philippines – The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has formally assigned code “911” as the national emergency hotline number beginning next month in compliance with a directive from President Duterte.

In Memorandum Circular (MC) 06-07-2016 dated July 21, the NTC said code “911” shall be made available for the use of the Philippine government, while Memorandum Order 07-07-2016 dated July 20 stipulates the use of code 911 as emergency hotline number nationwide.

“From Aug. 1, 2016, all public telecommunications entities shall route ‘911’ calls to the existing PATROL 117 Command Center until the new 911 Command Center is established and made operational. Thereafter, all ‘911’ calls shall be routed to the 911 Command Center,” NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said.

Earlier this month, PLDT and Globe Telecom signed an agreement with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Information and Communications Technology and NTC for a transition to the new 911 system from the existing Patrol 117.

The agreement includes a recommendation for Duterte to issue an executive order transferring the authority of the current Patrol 117 Commission to a new legal entity to handle the 911 system.

In Davao City where the President had served as mayor for decades, code 911 has been in use for a long time for quick emergency response.