PRC urges public to stop prank calls to 143 emergency hotline
Photo courtesy of PRC
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is urging the public not to misuse its emergency hotline, 143, for non-emergencies or pranks.
PRC Chairman Richard “Dick” Gordon emphasized the importance of keeping the hotline available for genuine emergencies.
“Let us deter abuse and disallow prank calls to PRC’s 143 Hotline because we need to respond to emergency situations as urgently as possible,” Gordon said.
Data from the PRC Operations Center revealed that 78 percent of the calls they deemed to have meaningful client engagement were, in fact, prank calls. Furthermore, of the more than 2,300 calls received on August 14, 78 percent of the callers hung up after being greeted by PRC representatives.
PRC Secretary-General Gwen Pang stressed the significance of the hotline. “We must prioritize the 143 hotline for people facing emergencies like road accidents or health crises. The line should be reserved for calls needing immediate attention,” Pang said.
“We need to be more careful with the use of 143. It should be dedicated to calls that require immediate assistance,” Pang said.
RELATED STORIES
DILG: Gov’t’s 911 hotline gets 2.54 million prank calls in 2019
PH Red Cross says its funds were ‘faithfully’ accounted
