A unified three-digit hotline is being proposed to simplify emergency response and ensure faster coordination among government offices in Iloilo City.
Vice Mayor Lady Julie Grace Baronda, author of the proposed ordinance, said the current system is inefficient since every office and agency maintains its own hotline number, making coordination slow and confusing during emergencies.
“With this measure, we aim to establish a single, easy-to-recall hotline for Iloilo City. This will integrate different offices into one response system and allow faster, more effective action during emergencies,” she said in an interview.
Baronda explained that the initiative is patterned after international models, particularly the 911 system in the United States, and will depend on local telecommunications providers to assign a dedicated three-digit number.
The vice mayor added that the system will not only involve city government offices but also national agencies such as the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
“The council will also explore the possibility of integrating the existing PNP 911 hotline once it becomes feasible,” Baronda said.
If approved, the measure would establish the city’s first centralized emergency response hotline, aiming to cut through bureaucratic delays and provide life-saving assistance when it matters most.IMT
