The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday acknowledged possible gaps in the Unified 911 system following the emergency response involving 71-year-old Omar Askri, who suffered a stroke on 15 August and later died.

DILG Undersecretary for Public Safety Jed Patrick Mabilog said the department is investigating the incident to establish the facts, determine possible accountability and address weaknesses in the emergency-response network.

“We extend our deepest condolences and prayers to the Askri family. We will continue the investigation, establish the complete facts, correct whatever needs to be corrected, and translate the lessons from this incident into concrete improvements,” Mabilog said at a press conference.

Initial findings showed that Askri’s nephew, Basti, waited about three minutes and 23 seconds before his call reached an assigned 911 call taker.

Within another one minute and 25 seconds, a three-way conference call was established among Askri, the 911 call taker and the Taguig Command Center (TCC).

The TCC acknowledged the emergency and committed to dispatching a response vehicle.

However, initial findings showed that the responding team had difficulty locating the patient and was unable to contact the caller for additional directions.

Mabilog said investigators are still verifying the exact dispatch time, attempted calls, movement of the response vehicle and its actual arrival time.

“If any of our personnel is found na meron silang kakulangan o kasalanan sa incident na ito, definitely they will face legal action from the Department,” he said.

Mabilog, DILG Undersecretary for Public Affairs and Communications Rolando Puno and Emergency 911 National Office Executive Director Francis Fajardo went to Barangay Maharlika on Monday in an effort to meet Askri’s family.

The DILG said it would continue reaching out to the family and update them directly on the investigation.

“The system works, but every major public safety system must continuously improve,” Mabilog said.

“We acknowledge the gaps this incident may have revealed, we take responsibility for addressing them, and we will use this experience to build a stronger, faster, better coordinated, and better equipped emergency-response network.”

Unified 911 currently handles an average of about 70,000 calls daily, prompting the DILG to consider increasing the number of call takers to reduce waiting times and strengthen capacity.

Mabilog stressed that the high volume of calls did not diminish the government’s responsibility to ensure emergency calls are handled as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“Every gap we identify will make Unified 911 stronger, faster, and better. In an emergency, trust 911,” he said.

The DILG said the findings of its investigation would guide corrective measures to improve coordination, response capacity and accountability across the Unified 911 network.