Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur’’ Abalos Jr. urged local government units across the country to set up 911 cal centers in anticipation of worse-case scenarios from the La Niña phenomenon.
”The idea is to create a seamless, nationwide communication infrastructure for emergency services. We will make sure that we will use the latest tools and techniques around the world. We are now starting this,” said Abalos.
However, Abalos emphasized that the 911 system will be effective if each local government unit (LGU) will put up their own “local emergency call center’’, similar to the “decentralized system’’ in the US.
During the recent Emergency National 911 Summit, the DILG signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the NGA 911 and PLDT, for the donation of advanced technology like “precise caller location services, advanced mapping and incident management systems, data analytics, video streaming, omni-channel messaging and integration of the body and vehicle cameras for emergency response cases.
”The only thing we could do to implement this in the most efficient way is to (use) technology. That’s the only way,” Abalos said.