PNP TXT2920 hotline

My daily trek on EDSA on the way home from work, causes me to drive by the SM outlet right after Ayala Avenue regularly. In such the same regularity, my anger rises as I see motorists other than myself being bullied by public buses which actually block the whole of EDSA with such nonchalance, causing a standstill in the traffic flow. No wonder road rage is in vogue these days! Taking it out on these abusive bus drivers is beginning to sound like the better traffic control mechanism as compared to color-coding. As my sanity crept back in, I remembered that there was a service called TXT2920 that the PNP just recently launched as a means for citizens to report incidences of crime and police abuse or simply just to furnish comments. Hmmm… I wondered if this system would work as compared to the other SMS-based hotline services which I’ve tried, but never really knew if the other party had gotten my text for it felt like I was sending my text into some black hole.

As soon as I made it safely home, I was ready to make my report to the PNP. I simply typed, PNP <space><GUD PM! PLS CHEK BUSES BLOCKING ENTIRE EDSA AT SM AYALA MKT. NO TRAFFIC FLOW! HELP! TY!> and sent the message to 2920. In a few seconds, I got a thank you text message validating the receipt of my report. Well, it seemed like the text message got somewhere, then so far so good. After a few minutes, I received another text message. It read, "UR REPORT HAS BIN REFERD 2 MMDA HOTLINE TRU TEL CAL, IT WAS RECIV BY PSI ROCA. PROGRESS REPORT WIL FOLOW." Wow, what action! Surprisingly too, the very next evening the mad buses were all queuing properly on the rightmost portion of EDSA. Though this lawfulness only lasted for a day, it was well worth it.

Such practical and innovative SMS services are what our wireless citizens yearn for. Initiatives have to be actively undertaken by the leaders of both our public and private institutions to upgrade their services using the technological advances available today in unison with the Filipinos’ current mobile way of life. Simple as the concept of TXT2920 may have been, providing a customer relations management tool via SMS was most practical. To access the service, type PNP <space><message> and send to 2920.

I would like to commend the progressive and service-oriented leaders of the PNP, Director-General Hermogenes E. Ebdane Jr., Director Ricardo de Leon, Senior Superintendent Oscar Valenzuela, Superintendent Leo Angelo Leuterio, Ms. Triccie Cantero and the CRAC team for providing an opportunity for citizens to stay connected with the PNP.

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TXT2920 has been recommended as the government’s service TXT hotline. Forward-thinking members of the Department of Energy (DOE) have already activated their TXT2920 service. Do watch out for more government agencies getting connected.

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Patrick R. Garcia is managing director of Bidshot Wireless Services. For comments or suggestions, text your message to 233011 (Globe) or 243011 (Smart) or e-mail to txtcity@yahoo.com.