City to get new emergency hotline

The Cebu City government will set up a centralized emergency response hotline interconnected with Department of the Interior and Local Government's 911 starting 2018.

Yesterday, officials of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) briefed Mayor Tomas Osmeña, Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Nagiel Bañacia and other officials about the system.

Bañacia said the city government has allocated P15 million under the disaster funds next year to finance the tapping of PLDT services. He said the city will avail of the services in the next three years.

Michael Eparwa, the digital engagement solutions expert of PLDT, said there will be 45 units of smart SOS dispatch service, which is similar to a mobile phone that can record videos and photos while responding to an incident.

There are also 70 units of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras that will be installed in the city as part of the system.

“It is a public safety emergency response system that is running on cloud and it is interconnected with 911 DILG's system,” he told reporters.

If a caller will contact 911hotline, the dispatch system of the command control center will see and contact the nearest responders via GPS (global positioning system) tracking.

With the use of the smart SOS dispatch service device, Eparwa said everything is recorded from the call to the dispatching, to the responding, among others.

One of the best features of the system is that it can be reached through mobile phones and all types of telecommunications for free, he added.

“We brought in this type of service because the cellphone itself, if there are no mobile signals, can communicate also on a two-way radio frequency so either UHF or VHF. So, it's prepared for disaster,” he said.

He said there are local government units that have availed of the same system such as Ilocos, La Union, Puerto Princesa, Cavite and among others.

Eparwa said PLDT is targeting to deliver the units early next year so that it will be used during the Sinulog celebration.

Osmeña, for his part, welcomed the development, saying people can expect a faster emergency response since it is already centralized.

For an efficient responding system, he said it needs to be upgraded to have stateof-the-art command, control, communications, computer, cyber, and intelligence.

As of now, he said the city will embark on command, control, communications, and computer with the new system.

While the public will have easy access to report any emergencies, Bañacia said the city government has constraints in the new system since callers from neighboring areas of Mandaue City or LapuLapu City will be accepted.

Bañacia said the responders of Cebu city will just coordinate with the responders of the corresponding LGUs.

He said the transaction was not bid out because it is just like subscribing to any telcos. The maintenance of the system is included in the transaction.