‘Guardian’ now on app store
The residents of Cebu City's four barangays can now use the “Guardian,” an emergency mobile application for faster response operations.
Barangays Apas, Tisa, Sto. Niño, and Poblacion Pardo have been chosen as the pilot areas for the Guardian, a dispatch and civilian reporting system developed by software firm SugboTek Inc.
Of the city's 80 villages, the four barangays were chosen based on their active and already established response teams and command centers.
Cloyd Dedicatoria, president and chief executive officer of SugboTek, said the application can now be downloaded for free on App Store and Google Play.
In fact, a test run for the application was conducted on January 21 in time for the Sinulog Grand Parade. However, it was not fully utilized due to signal shutdown.
The system allows cellphone or mobile device users to report incidents online. Under the system, people can choose between three basic types of incidents: fire, medical emergency and crimes. They also have an option to report other minor incidents like public disturbance.
Three days after it was available for download, barangay responders from Apas used the application during the fire incident in a densely populated area Sitio Baca on January 23. The fire injured one person and razed 12 houses. The damage to property was estimated at P400,000.
Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman said the village is using the app to improve the operations of its command center. “Nakig tie-up ta ani to level up the command center, and to further enhance sa responding capability of the responders,” he said. He said the system is not meant to overshadow the city's Command Control Center, but rather to complement the existing system.
Barangay emergency responders underwent seminars in November last year to familiarize the features of the app and to study how the system works.
To disseminate its functions to the public, SugboTek will hold an information drive on the emergency application.
Dedicatoria said they target to get at least 200,000 Guardian app users next month. Once the user reports the incident, the app will then automatically look for the nearest barangay- or city-based command center or response team based on the user's location.
It will then contact the nearest command center or team and the user who reported the incident can talk and discuss the details of the complaint.
The conversation can also be done via video call so responders can have better grasp of the incident.
Aside from emergency purposes, he said, the application can also be used in sending public advisories, such as power and water service interruptions.
Odessa O. Leyson/KBQ