By HANNAH NICOL
The Quezon City government said on Monday, July 10, that it made major improvements to the city's local emergency hotline, “Helpline 122,” to provide quicker and better service to its residents.
The city government made calling Helpline 122 even easier by giving the caller an option to press only one of two numbers to get connected to the concerned city department instead of them getting a list of numbers to choose before receiving a response.
According to the the local government, callers now only have two options to press after calling the help line.
First, they can press the number one in their telephones for emergency assistance. Pressing the number two will connect them to departments that will give them assistance on Covid-19 services, inquiries about the city’s programs , complaints and feedback mechanism, reports on violence against women and children, and mental health concerns.
To ensure quick police emergency response, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) also integrated its three-minute response time with Helpline 122.
Also, the local government is working with the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation to incorporate their mental health hotline into Helpline 122 for individuals with mental health concerns to receive complete assistance.
According to the local government, they receive an average of 890 calls on the helpline per month.
The city “Helpline 122” is the culmination of Mayor Belmonte's 14-point plan, particularly agenda point 14, which emphasizes the need to "listen to our citizens and understand what they need."
"Lalo pa nating pinaiksi at pinadali 'yung proseso sa pagtawag sa ating Helpline 122 dahil batid natin na kapag emergency, kailangan mabilisan 'yung aksyon. Bawat segundo ay mahalaga para maisalba ang buhay ng sinumang nasa panganib (We have shortened and simplified the process of calling our Helpline 122 even more because we know that in an emergency, action is needed quickly. Every second counts to save the life of anyone in danger)," Mayor Joy Belmonte said.