Duterte EO sets 911 as new PHL police, emergency hotline

President Rodrigo Duterte has set “911” as the new emergency hotline for crime prevention and public safety, an executive order released by Malacañang on Friday showed.

Issued on May 25, Executive Order 56 institutionalizes the Emergency 911 Hotline to replace the Patrol 117 hotline network as it cited the need to conform with international standards on emergency numbers for public telecommunication networks.

All calls made to the 911 hotline will be free of charge but fraudulent, hoax and prank reports shall be dealt with in accordance with existing laws and regulations.

Telecommunication companies are mandated to provide uninterrupted connectivity and integration of calls made by their subscribers to the hotline.

The EO also provides that the Emergency 911 Program and the National Hotline Public Safety Answering Center (National Call Center) be placed under the control of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Duterte required local government units to establish and run local 911 call centers that would be under the supervision of the National Call Center.

The President also mandated the creation of the Emergency 911 Commission that will oversee and make policies concerning the  program.

The commission will be chaired by the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government with the secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology as vice chairperson.

Its members include representatives from several government agencies including the Office of the President, Department of Justice, and the Department of National Defense.

“There is a need to improve public safety services and existing peace and order and public safety mechanisms by providing a clear command structure for responsibility and accessibility, and by encouraging and facilitating the prompt deployment of a seamless nationwide communication infrastructure for emergency services,” the EO stated.

According to the EO, the primary service responders are the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Philippine National Police.

Classified under major support service responders are the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, 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, hospitals, and public safety volunteers, among other institutions.

The DILG and the members of the Emergency 911 Commission have 60 days to craft and issue the implementing rules and regulations of the EO. —NB, GMA News