DILG to scale up 911 program this year

FILE: Eduardo Año (Photo by Gil Nartea / Malacañang Photo Bureau)

MANILA — Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Officer-in-Charge Eduardo M. Año has announced that the National 911 Program is to be scaled up this year.

Año said the PHP22.4 million allocated for the 911 program in the General Appropriations Act of 2018 is a good start to create necessary improvements from internal capacity enhancement to better response capability.

“As directed by President Duterte, we have so much planned for the National 911 program this 2018 and we commit to push through with all of these innovations, as they were created and intended to benefit the Filipino people,” Año said in a statement Monday.

The National 911 Program was one of the campaign promises of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte that he initially implemented when he was still mayor of Davao City.

The DILG is also considering hiring more personnel and conducting the required certification training on Emergency Telecommunications Course (ETC) to achieve the 8-to-10-minute response time to emergencies.

“Hiring qualified and competent professionals to serve as telecommunicators, information technology, planning, and legal service support will ramp up 911’s quick response capability, thus, saving more lives,” Año said.

Año added the DILG is gearing towards attaining a ladderized certification course on Emergency Medical Dispatch, to be provided by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch. (PNA)