Tagb City taps DILG’s E911,

activates command center

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)—In medical emergencies, time is of the essence and the City Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) has recently eliminated precious seconds of dialing or texting city emergency response numbers with the activation of its e911 during its command center launch, April 25.

911 is an internationally accepted emergency telephone distress call and has been adopted by the Department of Interior and Local Government with enhanced capabilities to improve response times and accuracy of emergency calls, according to DILG sources present at the CDRRMO Command Center Go-Live Activation at the City Hall grounds.

The introduction of the enhanced 911 (E911) allows the E911 operator to immediately know your location (at least in Tagbilaran City where the service is activated), eliminates the hassle of dialing long string of emergency numbers, or composing text messages, allows tele-conferencing with other integrated responders and this can even be used for mobile phones without load balances, DILG representative Angelica Joy Caranto said.

We anticipate a huge migration of calls from the city emergency hotline 411 2222 with the ease of dialing 911, which is now available in Tagbilaran City, the first LGU in Bohol and the second LGU in Central Visayas with the system installed, remarks CDRRMO Division Head Gerard Lavadia.

One of the leading international Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS), dialing to 911 facilitates call routing and even integration with other systems like the action centers of the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard or the Philippine National Police, explains Emmanuel Supremo of the CDRRMO, during an after-event press conference.

One of the 23 installed systems assisted by the DILG in the country, the E911 allows for real-time coordinated life-saving response where every emergency is met with swift action and empowering police, firemen and other disaster response authorities, city mayor Jane Cajes Yap noted in her speech.

During emergencies, dialing 911 on one’s mobile phone directs the call to one of the three communications experts manning the IVRS system, who gathers the most basic information to directly dispatch a team most needed for the kind of emergency, to the call location location which is activated when the call came in.

The CDRRMO has just completed a 3-day Telecommunications Specialist training on Basic Call Handling and Emergency Dispatch Sending, to get the system up and running, DILG said.

Still at the decent 4-7 minutes emergency response time average, the CDRRMO hopes to even shorten the response time with the distress call now made easier.

With the E911 activation, emergencies of what ever nature can now be coursed through the E911, or if people still are comfortable with the CDRRM on speed dial, or emergency hotline 411-2222, however, responders have urged people not to mess with the emergency number, as this could sideline the more pressing emergency, which needs the precious seconds to spell the difference between the victim being dead or alive. (RAHC/PIA_7/Bohol)

CRITICAL TIME. For international tourists in emergency situations, dialing 911 is automatic. For locals, 911 is even much easier than selecting the speed dials on one’s phone contacts in times of emergencies. For one, 911 also works on phones that do not have enough load balances. The system is now installed in Tagbilaran at the CDRRMO. (PIABohol)