THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has asked local government units (LGUs) to migrate their emergency hotline systems to a unified national 911 hotline within six months.
The migration requirement was contained in NTC Memorandum Circular No. 03-12-2020 issued in December, a copy of which was posted on its official website.
“All LGUs shall be informed of the assignment and use of code ‘911’ as the only emergency hotline number in the country,” the commission said in its memorandum.
“Other than the code 911, special or short codes for emergency hotline number issued to all LGUs are recalled; and through the public telecommunications entities, all LGUs shall migrate to the nationwide emergency hotline number code ‘911’ within six months from the effectivity of this circular,” it added.
In 2019, the Emergency 911 Commission, which serves as the policy-making body and overseer of the Emergency 911 National Program, approved a resolution directing the NTC to order “all public telecommunications entities to inform all LGUs of the assignment and use of code 911 as the only emergency hotline number in the country.”
The commission was also directed to require, through the public telecommunications entities, all existing local coordinating councils of the LGUs using special or short codes for emergency hotline number other than the code 911 to migrate and use the nationwide emergency hotline number, in compliance with Executive Order No. 56 that created the Emergency 911 Commission. — Arjay L. Balinbin
