PLDT to improve 8888 hotline

“We’re gonna put more lines than the 20 mandated in the contract with the government, and we will man it,” PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said. (File photo: PLDT/Facebook)

Telecommunications giant PLDT Incorporated on Tuesday, February 26, assured the public that it will improve the citizen’s complaint hotline 8888.

“We’re gonna put more lines than the 20 mandated in the contract with the government, and we will man it,” PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

His remarks came after President Rodrigo Duterte last Sunday threatened to shut down the telco company if they did not set up more trunk lines for the government’s public complaints hotline.

“Og naa moy nakit-an nga corruption, tawga ko o pahibaw-a ko sa 8888. Kin — Bong [Go], padungagi ra na’g trunk line. Dili kaya sa present setup. Sige busy. Ingnang PLDT (If you see corruption, tell me. Call 8888. Bong, add another trunk line. The present setup can’t accommodate all the calls. It’s always busy. Tell PLDT,” the President said in his speech during the campaign rally of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Cebu City.

Pangilinan explained that the reason why the line was always busy is that the 8888 call center does not have enough personnel who will respond to all the calls.

“Apparently, the 8888 is really a call center operations for both telcos. We have 20 lines each. We’re supposed to provide the lines, which we have provided but the lines are not manned properly,” he said.

To solve the problem, Pangilinan said they will “forget what the agreement said” and “will increase the number of lines to accommodate the calls, and we will man it ourselves.”

Pangilinan apologized for the inconvenience and thanked Duterte for calling out their attention.

In 2016, the President signed Executive Order (EO) No. 6, establishing 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center. Under the EO, the hotline number will serve as a “mechanism where citizens may report their complaints and grievances on acts of red tape as defined under RA (Republic Act) No. 9485 and other relevant laws, and/or corruption of any national government agency, government-owned or -controlled corporation, government financial institution, and other instrumentalities of the government.”

The trunkline operates 24/7, excluding national holidays and work suspensions.