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President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during the 37th Principals Training and Development Program and National Board Conference at SMX Convention Center in Davao City on May 4, 2018. Toto Lozano, Malacañang Photo
MANILA - Got an emergency? 911 will soon be the number to call anywhere you may be in the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte has issued an executive order institutionalizing 911 as the nationwide emergency number, expanding a program he started in Davao City where he was a long-time mayor.
Through Executive Order No. 56 signed May 25, Duterte mandated 911 as the new hotline replacing Patrol 117.
Implementing rules and regulations will first be drafted before activation of the emergency number.
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In his EO, Duterte said there is a need to change the 15-year-old Patrol 117 hotline network “to conform with international standards on emergency numbers for public telecommunication networks.”
The EO provides for the creation of the Emergency 911 National Hotline Public Safety Answering Center, which shall be under the control of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Local government units are tasked to establish and run local 911 centers within their area of jurisdiction using their own funds, the EO reads.
“These local 911 centers shall, however, be under the supervision of the national call center,” the order says.
The order also mandates private communication carriers and telecommunications companies to ensure and provide uninterrupted connectivity and integration of all calls made by their subscribers to the 911 hotline.
“All fraudulent, hoax, or prank reports shall be dealt with in accordance with existing and applicable laws, rules, and regulations and the implementing rules and regulations of this order,” the EO reads.
Bureau of Fire Protection and Philippine National Police officers will serve as primary responders to emergencies called in, the order says.
Major support service responders, meanwhile, shall be composed of the departments of public works, health, and transportation, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, local government units, and accredited non-government organizations, hospitals, medical institutions and facilities.
The EO also establishes the Emergency 911 Commission, to be headed by the DILG secretary, to serve as the policy-making body and overseer of the Emergency 911 national program.
The commission shall formulate implementing rules and regulations within 60 days to pave the way for activation of the emergency number.
The EO also creates the Emergency 911 National Office to lead the implementation.
Patrol 117's commission and development office shall, meanwhile, ensure transition to the new nationwide hotline number.
“In no case shall the delivery of services under the Emergency 911 Hotline be disrupted by reason of such transition,” the EO states.
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