MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang is optimistic that telecommunications companies in the country would heed President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to improve the public’s access to the 8888 complaint hotline.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the statement after Duterte threatened to shut down a telecommunications firm if it would not set up more trunk lines to receive calls from the public.
In a speech in Cebu City on Sunday, Duterte said “the present setup can’t accommodate all the calls.”
“We trust that telecommunications networks that act as crucial access points for the system shall endeavor their very best to improve the capacity and resiliency of the system because at the end of the day, Hotline 8888 is meant to ensure the general welfare of the Filipino people,” Panelo said in a statement on Wednesday.
The institutionalization of the 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Hotline was established through of Executive Order No. 6 signed by Duterte in August 2016.
Paneo said “Hotline 8888 was intended to ensure public accountability and transparency of government service.”
Before the establishment of the complaint hotline, Panelo said “public avenues for redress of grievances were largely fragmented among different government agencies and the public was left in doubt as to whom to contact and request for an update as regards the status of their complaints.”
“Thus, the President envisioned the creation of an integrated system for the consolidation, monitoring and addressing of complaints that would be accessible to every Filipino 24/7, which is prompt and responsive,” he said.
The operations of Hotline 8888, he added, “are under the direct supervision of the Office of the President to ensure the fulfillment of President Duterte’s commitment of quick access for the people.”
He said the “Presidential Communications Operations Office directly helps promote the enterprise by hosting a television show which addresses the complaints of our citizens through the said hotline.”
“Given all this, it is clear why the President would be displeased when our countrymen’s efforts to access the 8888 Hotline are frustrated,” he said. / gsg