MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos in need of emergency assistance can now dial a single hotline for urgent help following the launching of the Unified 911 emergency system across the country yesterday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said.
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan led the launching at the national command center of the PLDT headquarters in Sampaloc, Manila.
“Today, we have one hotline and that’s 911,” Remulla said.
The new system, Remulla said, simplifies access to emergency services.
The Unified 911 replaces thousands of emergency numbers of local governments.
“We had 35 local government units with their own hotline numbers. We had the Philippine National Police (PNP). We had the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) with another 200 numbers. Then we had 40,000 barangays,” Remulla said.
The integrated hotline links the PNP, BFP, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and local governments to provide centralized response to emergencies such as police, fire, medical or disaster incidents.
According to the DILG, the 911 service is free and available around the clock. The system is language-sensitive, featuring Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Waray, Tausug and other Philippine dialects.
“The target response time is five minutes, with trained call takers ready to 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,” the department added.