Philippine 911 response to get P120-million boost
By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES’ emergency 911 response will get P120 million in additional funding from Next Generation Advanced (NGA) 911 to improve its system.
In a summit on Wednesday, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos, Jr. said the program includes three key changes — precise caller location, advanced mapping and incident management systems and data analytics.
“We initially prioritized handling [of the money] through the Philippine National Police… but what we aim to do here is to establish local command centers so that [the money] can be cascaded to other local services, not just the police,” he told reporters in Filipino on the sidelines of the summit.
He added that from 30 911 personnel, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) now has 150 across the country. The number is still not enough, he added.
Mr. Abalos in a separate keynote speech said the DILG had received more than 28,000 calls from January to June this year, 24,000 of which were emergency calls.
He added that the state weather bureau had advised one to three typhoons a month, highlighting the need to improve emergency response.
“The idea is to create a seamless nationwide communication infrastructure for emergency services,” he said.
At a discussion during the same summit, DILG Undersecretary Lord A. Villanueva said they seek to decentralize their 911 response system, where each local government unit (LGU) would have its own command center.
Mr. Abalos said Morong, Rizal was the first to have its own 911 command center, followed by Alaminos in Pangasinan, Cagayan de Oro and Navotas City.
The DILG will also partner with PLDT, Inc. to improve the communication infrastructure.
Albert Mitchell L. Locsin, PLDT First vice president and head of Enterprise and International Business Groups told the summit the company would focus on information dissemination.
“We have given our promise to the secretary and to Executive Director [Francis D.] Fajardo to help… disseminate the information on 911,” he said.
The company would train local government staff in handling the technology and platforms that they would bring with NGA 911, he added.
Don Ferguson, founder and chief executive officer of NGA 911, told the summit it took the United States about 30 to perfect their 911 system.
“The Philippines is a beneficiary of all the knowledge and all of the mistakes made over in the US,” he said, citing a Filipina colleague who had pushed him to bring NGA 911 to the Philippines five years ago.
“Consistent response has many dimensions,” he said. “It starts with a highly reliable and resilient network.”
A reliable network is crucial to ensure that the caller and respondent have a stable connection during emergencies.
NGA 911 handles the United States’ 911 service. It is internationally known for its emergency calling technology.
