Iloilo city: A three-digit hotline is being pushed for this city to ensure faster response during emergencies. In an interview on Thursday, Vice Mayor Lady Julie Grace Baronda said that based on her research, offices within the city government and relevant government agencies have their own hotline numbers, which makes it quite difficult to coordinate with agencies during emergencies or for other concerns.

According to Philippines News Agency, “With this, we hope to have a unified number for faster response,” Baronda, who authored the proposed ordinance for the hotline numbers, said. She noted that other cities and countries have emergency hotlines, similar to the 911 system in the United States. “We hope to have that in Iloilo City to integrate different offices to have one hotline number. In case of emergencies, they can easily recall the number and it would be easier to respond,” she said, adding that it will be up to the telecommunications provider to assign the three-digit number.

Baronda said they hoped to involve national government agencies, like the National Telecommunications Commission, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Office of Civil Defense, and the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in the hotline. “The council will also consider integrating the 911 hotline of the PNP when it is doable,” she added.