Philippine National Police (PNP) responders now arrive on the scene in less than five minutes.

Police Brigadier General Warren Gaspar A. Tolito, Director of the PNP Communications and Electronics Service (CES) shared the good news that over 90 percent of all Police 911 calls can now be responded to in record response time.

The game-changing approach to emergency response is a direct result of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Revitalized Emergency 911 Project that calls for immediate and accurate reaction to emergency calls from citizens and local government units.

Majority of the emergency calls stem from vehicular accidents, domestic violence, public disturbance, individuals running amok, theft and robbery, Tolito revealed.

Tolito mentioned interesting cases of rescues made in the nick of time, like a woman about to jump off a bridge in Batasan Hills who was pulled to safety by PNP operatives, an abandoned newborn in an ecobag found in a vacant lot in Cabuyao, Laguna that was brought to the hospital just in time to save its life, and the thwarted hijacking of a tanker filled with goods because of swift relay messages between operatives from the scene of the crime in Caloocan to the place of apprehension in Obando, Bulacan.

“At PNP 911, we do not discriminate. There was an incident of someone creating trouble in a Nueva Ecija establishment. Someone from the establishment called 911 and within 5 minutes, the responders were there. The apprehended person in the station was identified as an off duty-officer of the law,” General Tolito added.

Tolito said some cities like Quezon City and Zamboanga City respond really quickly and are very efficient in their emergency response. Areas where the nearest police station is a long way off take a little longer but still respond within the 3 to 5-minute standard. In Metro Manila areas, traffic sometimes affects response time. The highest emergency calls come from the Laguna and Cavite areas, he shared.

Robert Llaguno, country head of NGA 911 Philippines which provided the PNP with its patented call handling system, said statistics show that after calling 911 (then pressing "1" for Police) it takes less than a minute for such calls to be picked up and average dispatch time of responders is only 40 to 50 seconds. NGA 911 technology is responsible for leveling up emergency capabilities of the PNP and LGUs to standards used in the US and Europe.

Llaguno noted that the PNP’s three-minute response statistics is “comparable and may be even better than that of the States”. “The PNP is determined to sustain this type of response for Filipinos and should be commended for this,” Llaguno said.

Tolito said the PNP is committed to get things done within the 3 to 5 minutes standard set by PNP Chief Police General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil based on a directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last June “so we can be at par or better than other countries”. “We have accepted the challenge and even our Regional Directors are doing simulation exercises in the field just to show how serious we are about this,” Tolito said.

“I think what drives our PNP to sustain this kind of response is the joy of responding and helping our kababayans on the ground who really need help the most. It’s very fulfilling to be able to help them by responding fast, it’s just that we did not have this type of system before. Now that we have it, our PNP has high morale because they have a clear sense of direction in their patrolling.”

Tolito added that “emergencies can happen anytime, and we are happy that we can respond efficiently and accurately. It is in our nature as Filipinos to want to help our fellow men, in whatever way”.

At the National Summit on Emergency Response held in Mandaluyong City last August, the DILG’s E911 National Office signed a memorandum of understanding with NGA911, for a proof-of-concept use of its Next Generation 911 technology to power the Revitalized 911 program of the country. US-based NGA 911 LLC, mother company of NGA Philippines, provides the 911 system of California, USA.

“The PNP, the E911 National Office of the DILG powered by NGA911's cutting-edge technology, data-driven analytics, and PLDT's network are at work daily elevating 911 of the Philippines to a higher level,” Gen. Tolito concluded.