CEBU CITY 911. Personnel stationed at the Cebu City Command and Control Center (C3) answering distress calls. Cebu City Councilor Rey Gealon on Thursday (Feb. 16, 2023) said the effort to institutionalize Hotline 911 is aimed to integrate all distress calls in one command center to shorten the response time during emergencies. (Photo courtesy of C3's Renzo de Rosario)
CEBU CITY – Cebu City government’s plan to institutionalize Hotline “911” would integrate all distress calls in one command center to shorten response time during emergencies, an official said on Thursday.
Councilor Rey Gealon, said he filed an ordinance that will consolidate all emergency hotlines so as not to confuse the public.
“Right now, we don’t have established standards in our 911. That’s the reason why our constituents who would dial the number will get linked with the other places that have 911 hotlines like Manila or Davao. Aside from that, our command center can get calls from our points of the province like Liloan in the north or Santander in the south,” Gealon told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
Gealon said the city government would ask the National Telecommunications Commission to help in the "call concentration" that would only allow distress calls from the city to reach the local 911.
He added that calls for support and assistance should be diverted to national emergency hotlines or other jurisdictions.
The existing Cebu City Command and Control Center (C3) has six different hotlines, but in mobile phone format, which, Gealon said, are difficult to remember.
He said closed-circuit television (CCTV) installed to monitor traffic situations will also be integrated into the 911 command center in Barangay Mambaling to allow faster response for traffic accidents and fire incidents.
The new response system will also utilize technology to point to the precise coordinates where an emergency is occurring to avoid responders from getting lost while on the route.
Once integrated, Gealon said, distress calls will get a shorter response time because under the new setup, emergency responders, medical teams, and ambulances will be stationed in three strategic areas -- one for the mountain villages, in Pardo for the south, and in Talamban for the north.
He said the city would also work with other emergency response units from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, and other responding units to ensure immediate action from them if the incidents would need their involvement.
“Even if an emergency happens in the middle of the ocean, and the caller dials 911, we can easily patch up to the Philippine Coast Guard,” Gealon said.
He said officials from the PCG, BFP, and PNP have expressed support to the new system, saying that once the ordinance is passed and implemented, “all resources for emergency response will not be wasted but will be aligned into one single hotline.” (PNA)
