Unified 911 maintains rapid response rates

The government’s Unified 911 emergency hotline handled more than 96,000 emergency calls during the first 10 months of 2026, maintaining a 96.64 percent efficiency rate, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported Tuesday.

From 1 January to 31 October, the Emergency 911 National Call Center processed 96,447 emergency calls, coordinating police assistance, fire suppression, medical emergency care, search and rescue operations, and immediate intervention in cases of violence against women and children.

Under the Unified 911 system, emergency assistance is typically dispatched within an average of three to five minutes, with some critical incidents receiving response teams in as little as one to two minutes.

In one instance in Goa, Camarines Sur, a caller requested urgent medical assistance for a diabetic father experiencing severe abdominal pain. A response vehicle arrived within one minute to transport the patient to St. John Hospital.

In Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, a Bureau of Fire Protection ambulance crew responded within one minute to a report of a resident suffering a heart attack, bringing the patient to a local urgent care facility.

Similarly, in General Luna, Surigao del Norte, a motorcycle accident victim received medical intervention within two minutes before transfer to the Siargao Island Medical Center.