Aug 16, 2024 - 18:00
By manilatimes.net

DILG launches hi-tech emergency hotline

THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) launched what they described as a faster and better E-911 emergency hotline, using advanced technology.

«Dati, mano-mano tayo. Ngayon because of teknolohiya, ang bilis ng galaw» (Back in the day, we did it the crude way. But because of technology, now we can do it swiftly), DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said.

In a simulation demonstration of the advanced E-911, a call-to-police response took only about 56 seconds.

‘WHAT’S YOUR EMERGENCY?’ The Philippine National Police Command Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City, opens its doors to the media on Aug. 16, 2024, to reveal an advanced emergency call system known as E911. It was designed to hasten response through accurate location pinpointing, versatile communication options, and seamless integration with other emergency services. Unlike the traditional 911 system, E911 enables callers to send text messages, photos and videos in addition to voice calls, providing crucial details to responders. PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE

According to Bernard delos Santos of the E-911 National Call Center, with the new technology, the hotline team is able to filter pranks and spam calls.

Previously, only 500 of the 50,000 calls were legitimate. Now, he said, the number of emergency calls received by the system was cut to around half.

«With the new system, all those spam or prank callers, first and foremost, [authorities] can identify and locate [the prank callers] because of the capabilities of the new system (with) GPS,» delos Santos said.

«Consistent prank callers can now be [easily] tagged,» he added.

The DILG said that the US's Next Generation Advanced 911 (NGA 911), an emergency calling technology company, and PLDT Inc. donated advanced technology features for the country's emergency hotline under the terms of a memorandum of understanding.

Some of the features include caller location services, advanced mapping and incident management systems, data analytics, video streaming, omni-channel messaging, and integration of body and vehicle cameras in responding to emergencies.

This means that the systems can easily identify pranksters as well.

Meanwhile,