The city government of Parañaque, in partnership with Philippine Long Distance Telecommunication Co., has formally launched its 911 Emergency Hotline for emergency calls and public complaints citywide and for neighboring cities.
Parañaque is the first local government unit in Metro Manila to put up its own 911 command center that will connect the caller to emergency, rescue, police, or fire services.
“Starting this week, the Parañaque 911 center will be made operational 24/7,” said Mayor Edwin Olivarez, after signing the memorandum of agreement with officials of the Department of Local Government and PLDT during a simple ceremony at City Hall Monday.
Currently, the 911 system is still in transition, meaning both 911 and 117 are still in service while the government is shifting all its resources to the former.
The local 911 response system, modeled after Davao City’s Central 911, aims to make response time of emergency services much quicker.
Aided by a high-speed modern computerized system, the hotline connects the caller to the nearest emergency dispatch for faster response time.
Present during the MOA signing were Olivarez; PLDT senior VP Jovy Hernandez; PLDT VP and head Alpha Vic Tria; visiting senior council member of Carson City, USA, Elito Santarina; DILG director for creative services Edgar Allan Tabell; Parañaque Rep. Eric Olivarez; city disaster and risk reduction office (CDRRMO) head Ted Gonzales, and Councilors Binky Favis and Bong Benzon.
The city’s emergency operations, to be housed at the fourth floor of city hall, will also provide medical, fire, rescue and police assistance 24-hour, seven days a week starting Tuesday, Olivarez said.
The command center will be under the direct supervision of the CDRRMO headed by Ted Gonzales, whose team was tasked to perform specific functions in response to situations brought about by natural or human-induced disaster.
The command center will gather all necessary information from a caller enabling emergency reporting and response become instantaneous and reliable and sent to the nearest responding unit for rapid dispatch, thereby, saving time and resources in the process.
This month alone, the CDRRMO conducted several trainings, seminars and workshops in different barangays, departments, homeowners’ associations and NGOs to hone skills in life saving techniques.
To combat crime, the hotline will connect the caller to the local police precinct or to the office of the mayor, office of the concerned barangay chairman and concerned offices defending to the problem on hand, Gonzales said.
Likewise, the CDRRRMO will be operating within the year on its newest state of the art command center to finally establish an integrated surveillance system in the city’s major thoroughfares across 16 barangays.
