PNP, Samsung develop mobile app for public assistance

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday inked an agreement with technology giant Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. to develop a database where contact numbers of police stations are readily available for mobile phone users.

Officials of the PNP Directorate for Information and Communications Technology Management (DICTM) and Samsung forged a partnership for the development of “Samsung 321,” a mobile app that provides a database of national institutions and facilities, which the public can use in case of emergencies.

“We are honored to have partnered with the PNP,” Samsung president and chief executive officer Ki Ho Lee said.

Under the agreement, the PNP will provide Samsung with contact numbers of all police offices, including police community precincts in the country.

Once installed on smartphones, people can call police stations within a five-kilometer radius to seek assistance during crimes and emergency situations.

The mobile app will also guide smartphone users on the location of a police station through the use of GPS or Global Positioning System.

DICTM chief Director Napoleon Taas assured the public that their mobile phones would not be compromised and would be safe from hackers.

“This particular application went through a rigid certification process, which is part of the organization’s policies,” Taas said.

 “If and when a privacy breach is encountered, you have the law supporting you,” Taas, the PNP’s data privacy officer, added.

The mobile app has been operational since 2016 and contains contact numbers of fire stations and other emergency rescue units.

Julis Arguson, Samsung’s product engineering and technical compliance head, said at least 800 contact numbers of police stations have been uploaded on the mobile app.

To date, the mobile app covers over 84 locations nationwide including Metro Manila, Batangas, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Ilocos Norte, Occidental Mindoro, Albay and Palawan.

“We verify first before we upload to the database so rest assured that the numbers can be contacted,” Arguson said.

For non-users of Samsung phones, the app can be downloaded at Google Play Store.