Talks underway to make 911 calls free of charge

Emergency calls made through the 8888 and 911 hotlines starting August may likely not be charged, a government official said Thursday.

NTC deputy commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said in an interview that telco providers were in talks with government agencies to revise long-running agreements that allowed them to impose tariffs on calls placed on government hotlines.

The NTC was assisting the telcos and government agencies in drafting new agreements aimed at making the calls free, after Globe Telecom said it was ready to facilitate calls through the 911 emergency hotline and the 8888 complaint hotline beginning August as ordered by President Duterte.

Globe said the customers would be charged P5 per call through the 911 hotline, which it said was suggested by the government to deter prank callers. It immediately drew flak from subscribers and pro-consumer activists, who branded the move as an example of corporate greed.

It later said it was only implementing the same fee structure used under the previous 117 emergency hotline, and that it was just “strictly complying” with the state directive.

Cabarios said there were existing agreements between the telcos and the Department of the Interior and Local Government for the 911 hotline and with the Civil Service Commission for the 8888.

 Amendments

“You can’t just end the agreements abruptly. So there are ongoing discussions now amending those existing agreements,” Cabarios said. “The result should be to make these calls for free.”

A DILG spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday. Spokespersons for Globe and PLDT also declined to comment on any discussions.

Cabarios said the agreement with the DILG dated back almost two decades. He said the Philippine National Police and the Foundation for Crime Prevention were included, and when emergency calls were first launched, these were free of charge.