Unified, nationwide E911 system will give Filipinos greater peace of mind

(Supplied)

With the rollout of the Unified 911, the country now has a single reliable hotline for police, fire, medical, and disaster emergencies. This gives Filipinos faster and improved access to life-saving services. By dialing 911 from anywhere, calls can be traced in seconds and first responders dispatched within three to five minutes because the new system can pinpoint their exact location.

The Unified 911 is a joint initiative of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), PLDT Inc. (PLDT), through its corporate business arm PLDT Enterprise and ICT subsidiary ePLDT, NGCS Inc., and NGA 911 Philippines, the local arm of U.S.-based NGA 911 LLC. It introduces next generation emergency communications technology already proven in the United States and Europe.

The system comes with advanced features designed to strengthen public safety. It has GPS-based location tracking that allows faster and more precise dispatch of emergency teams. It uses internet protocol to transmit voice, text, and video between callers and responders, providing real-time data that enhances situational awareness and supports better decision-making. It integrates the Philippine National Police, BFP, and local government emergency response units into one centralized network, with more agencies and features to follow. It is also hosted on ePLDT’s Pilipinas Cloud and the Amazon Web Service platform to ensure reliability and resiliency.

For the joint project, NGA has brought to the Philippines an advanced emergency communications system that can provide faster and more accurate emergency responses to people in need. It is the same technology used in the United States and Europe that has proven to be a game-changer in emergency communications. The system leverages NGA 911’s next generation 911 technology to deliver the project’s critical functions and capabilities.

Don Ferguson, Co-Founder and CEO of NGA 911 LLC, said the system “will help the DILG save more lives and empower more communities now that all systems have been unified into one nationwide system. The technology is a true cloud-based NG 9-1-1 solution
operating on the Amazon Web Service (AWS) Cloud Platform and uses a robust and
resilient Internet Protocol (IP) backbone that has replaced the decades-old 911
infrastructure to turn emergency communication into Next Generation 911.

Launched on September 11 in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive under Bagong Pilipinas, DILG Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla mentioned that the system shall integrate around 30 fragmented local hotlines into one universal number: 911.

Robert Llaguno, NGA 911 Philippines Country Manager, said, “We have been entrusted to build the 911 mission-critical systems and communication facilities that will help save lives, protect property, and unify our first responder communications. This partnership is aiming for nothing short of unparalleled service, and this is my commitment to my family and the Filipino people.”