Strengthening of Cebu City’s 166 hotlines sought

CEBU, Philippines — Stakeholders are in favor of strengthening Cebu City’s emergency response systems instead of establishing the Cebu City 911 Rescue Center.

This came up during the public hearing of the proposed ordinance to establish the Cebu City 911 Emergency Response Center, sponsored by Councilor Rey Gealon.

This is an offshoot of Executive Order No. 56, series of 2018, issued by former President Rodrigo Duterte, institutionalizing the Emergency Hotline 911.

However, some stakeholders are adamant about it.

Councilor Philip Zafra, who chairs the committee on peace and order, said they better retain the city’s 166 hotlines and focus on improving its systems.

Improving the system also includes establishing a new and modernized command center for the city.

Chief Inspector Matt Reil Pono of the Cebu City Fire Station agrees and supports the improvement of the city’s emergency response.

Pono said the city’s unified or standard dispatching system still has a lot of improvements to do.

Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) head Harold Alcontin said they are now planning to improve its hotline and emergency response systems.

Alcontin also shared the problems they encountered in the implementation of the country’s 911 established by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Alcontin said that some concerns that are outside Cebu City’s jurisdiction ended up in the city’s command control center (C3) hotlines, the City PIO reported.

“Wala natarong ang 911…maong nalangay atong response,” he said on his 911 past experience.

“Amo nasad ibalik ang mga calls didto sa DILG nga 911 kay ang uban dili man sa among jurisdiction,” added Alcontin.

Alcontin explained that this is because the 911 number has not been localized while the 166 hotline is already long in place and caters to concerns and reports that are within Cebu City only.

“(The) 166 (hotline) has been there for so long. It’s very reliable,” stressed Alcontin.

Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF) operations head,  Medardo Batiller, also said 911 is known to be a US-based system and many other parts of the world have their own unique three-digit hotline number.

Batiller though is supporting the intent of the ordinance.

Gealon said he is open to the suggestions of the stakeholders and will review his proposed ordinance before it is reintroduced to the City Council for further deliberation. — GMR (FREEMAN)