EO makes 911 country’s emergency hotline number

The country’s emergency hotline number is now officially 911 with the issuance of an executive order (EO) replacing 117 as the hotline to call for crime prevention and public safety.

Under Executive Order No. 56, President Rodrigo Duterte institutionalized 911 as the “National Emergency Answering Point” under the direction and control of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The primary service responders shall be the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Philippine National Police, according to the EO, which was signed on May 25.

Support may be provided by other agencies, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Philippine Coast Guard.

All calls to the emergency hotline shall be free of charge. But the public is warned against making any prank calls.

“All fraudulent, hoax, or prank reports shall be dealt with in accordance with existing and applicable laws, rules, regulations and the implementing rules and regulations of this Order,” the EO stated.—DJ YAP