DILG: Nationwide unified emergency hotline 911 rollout starts on Sept. 11
By Chito Chavez
The rollout of the nationwide unified 911 hotline will begin on Sept. 11 and will replace he more than 30 fragmented local emergency numbers, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.
With the single emergency number rollout, the DILG explained that “Filipinos facing emergencies will only need to dial one number 911 starting Sept. 11.
Under the system, the DILG said that “every emergency call, whether for police, fire, medical, or disaster response, will now be routed through a single, integrated network linking the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and local governments.
The DILG assured that the service is free, available 24/7, and designed to be language-sensitive so calls in Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Waray, Tausug and other Philippine languages can be understood and acted upon.
“For years, the Philippines operated fragmented hotlines, leaving callers unsure whom to reach and causing uneven response times,’’ the DILG stated.
DILG Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic’’ Remulla insisted that the unified 911 should not just be a hotline but also a lifeline.
“Every second matters, every call matters, every life matters. This is the government fulfilling its promise that help will always be within reach,” Remulla asserted.
He said that the target response time is five minutes, with call takers trained to reassure callers in crisis with a single assurance that “help is on the way.”
By cutting delays and uniting responders, Remulla lamented that the hotline is a tangible step toward giving families the confidence that they are safer in their homes, on the streets and in every barangay.
Further, the DILG emphasized that unified 911 is more than a technical reform, saying that it reflects the view of President Ferdinand “Bongbong’’ Marcos Jr. that public safety is the foundation of stronger communities.
“Unified 911 is the nation’s single number and the government’s single promise that when danger strikes, help will come,’’ the DILG continued.