‘Help is on the way’: Unified 911 to be language-sensitive, targets 5-min response 

By Brian Campued

“Anumang wika, anumang diyalekto.. may tulong na darating sa iyo.”

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will officially launch the Unified 911 emergency system on September 11, not only to provide faster and more reliable access to life-saving assistance but also to integrate various languages to reach every Filipino who needs help across the country.

In a press release Friday, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the Unified 911 service will be free, available 24/7, and is sensitive to the language most used and understood by the caller.

The new system will replace over 30 local emergency hotlines, to eliminate the need to call different numbers for every type of emergency—whether for police, fire, medical, and disaster response.

It will also connect callers to emergency services through a single network linking the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, as well as the local governments—with authorities expected to respond within five minutes.

Remulla previously said that the Unified 911 will also respond to mental health concerns as the DILG will tap professionals from the National Center for Mental Health to provide psychosocial support to callers.

The DILG chief stressed that operators are also trained to reassure callers with the message: “Help is on the way.”

Remulla said the initiative is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen the government’s efforts to ensure public order and safety.

“Unified 911 should not just be a hotline. It is a lifeline,” he said.

“Every second matters, every call matters, every life matters. This is [the] government fulfilling its promise that help will always be within reach.”

-jpv