911 will also serve as mental health crisis hotline, says DILG

MANILA, Philippines — People seeking emergency psychosocial support will be able to use the 911 emergency call system as a mental health crisis hotline, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.

A desk in the department’s 911 Command Center will be allocated and professionals from the National Center for Mental Health will be deployed for this initiative, the DILG explained in a statement on Monday.

READ: Dial 911 anywhere: DILG eyes emergency call system nationwide

“We have counselors who, when our young people are feeling distressed or when you know you are grappling with a condition, you can call and there will be someone who will respond,” DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said in the statement.

“Out of a capacity of 50,000 calls a day, we anticipate maybe two percent of those calls will be about mental health (concerns),” he added.

Remulla also detailed that the rollout of the 911 system across the country is slated to start this August or September, aiming to establish dispatch centers in local government units and use already-existing local emergency call hubs. /cb