The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported on Friday, Feb. 27, that the call handling efficiency of the Unified 911 emergency hotline reached 98 percent in 2025.

In a forum, Emergency 911 National Office Executive Director Francis Fajardo highlighted that the government’s 911 system receives up to 500 calls related to violence against women and children (VAWC) cases monthly, underscoring its growing role in addressing such concerns.

“As of last year, we have yearly recorded calls. What we received there were almost 5,000 cases before the launching. That is still quite low, we observed,” Fajardo said.

The Unified 911 system was first launched to consolidate multiple emergency hotlines into one centralized platform. Before modernization, the system handled calls inefficiently, with an estimated 40 to 48 percent of calls properly received and addressed.

“When our 911 system was not yet modernized, our efficiency was actually around 40 to 48 percent. After the launch in the last quarter of 2025, our call efficiency went up to 98 percent. We are now able to receive almost all calls after the launch of our 911 system,” Fajardo added.

Since its modernization, the 911 system now handles around 30,000 emergency calls nationwide daily. Cases involving ongoing physical abuse are immediately referred to the police for urgent response while non-urgent concerns are endorsed to barangay VAWC desks.

The DILG’s National Barangay Operations Office (NBOO) reported that nearly all barangays nationwide now have functional VAWC desks.

NBOO assistant division chief Lovesita Daumar said 97 percent or 40,831 barangays meet the five compliance indicators for VAWC desks.

“Our barangay VAWC officers have been installed here, and they should be trained so that they know what to do because they will provide the initial response for the victims of violence against women and children,” Daumar explained.