Dial 911 anywhere: DILG eyes emergency call system nationwide
A 911 call handler works at the command center of Bustos, Bulacan. (Photo from the National E911 office)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is aiming to roll out a unified 911 emergency call system in July.
“We’ll get the SARO (special allotment release order) this week, so within around six to eight weeks, it’ll be finished,” DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said in a press briefing at Camp Karingal in Quezon City on Monday.
Remulla further specified that the July rollout will start in the Ilocos Region, Central Visayas, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and the National Capital Region (NCR).
It will also include the so-called Greater Metro Manila provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
The DILG will expand the rollout of the unified 911 system every month until the project covers all of the country’s 18 regions, the secretary noted.
“It will be under the DILG because of all the responses there—fire, local government, ambulances, BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection)—all of that are under the DILG,” Remulla pointed out.
The interior secretary further said the Philippine National Police’s current 911 system will be put in place to receive calls requesting police response.
READ: Police respond to 78% of 911 calls within five minutes – PNP
“We are going to deploy the latest technology in the world. You can do streaming [and] show what’s going on with you. There’ll be a geolocator so we can know where you are,” Remulla added./apl/abc
