The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) officially launched on Thursday, September 11, the “Unified 911”, the government’s single hotline for all emergency concerns.
The move comes after the government dissolved the various hotlines of Local Government Units (LGUs) and integrated them into one national system.
📷: RTVM Malacañang
Under this setup, Filipinos will no longer have difficulty reaching the right agency during emergencies. Calls will automatically be directed to an integrated network that links to the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), LGUs, or any other necessary agency.
“We have 35 LGUs by their own numbers, we had PNP, we had BFP then we had 40,000 barangays, today, we are one number and that’s 911,” DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said proudly.
At present, there are 60 personnel manning the main call centers. The government also plans to open seven additional call centers in the coming months.