DILG to LGUs: establish emergency call services

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. on Thursday, 15 August, urged local government units (LGUs) to establish their own 911 emergency call centers, particularly with the onset of the La Niña phenomenon.

Abalos, who spoke at the Emergency 911 (E911) National Summit held at EDSA Shangri-La in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, explained that the emergency hotline 911 system was modeled after the United States' 911 system to provide immediate responses to emergencies in the country.

”The idea is to create a seamless, nationwide communication infrastructure for emergency services. We will make sure that we will use the latest tools and techniques around the world. We are now starting this,” Abalos said.

He emphasized that LGUs should support the national government in establishing their own 911 systems to effectively manage emergencies by setting up local call centers, similar to the decentralized system used in the US.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DILG and telecommunications companies NGA 911 and PLDT includes a donation of advanced technology for "precise caller location services," advanced mapping, incident management systems, data analytics, video streaming, omni-channel messaging, and the integration of body and vehicle cameras for emergency responses.

”The only thing we could do to implement this in the most efficient way is to [use] technology.” Abalos said.