The Philippine government is rolling out an expanded 911 emergency hotline that will now cover police, fire, medical, and disaster-related incidents across more parts of the country.
Following its initial launch last year for Philippine National Police (PNP) emergencies, the service is being enhanced in partnership with NGA 911 Philippines to provide broader access and faster response times.
Originally available in Metro Manila, Rizal, and Camiguin, the Unified 911 system has now been extended to Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Bohol, and Navotas. Authorities said the expansion ensures wider reach across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Officials project response times of just three to five minutes, aided by GPS-based location tracking that allows responders to pinpoint callers and dispatch help quickly.
The project is a joint effort of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), PLDT, and NGA 911 Philippines, the local arm of US-based NGA 911 LLC.
The system operates on Amazon Web Service (AWS) Cloud Platform and adopts Next Generation 911 technology already in use in the United States and parts of Europe. It supports voice, text, and video communications, providing responders with real-time data for faster decision-making.
“This will help the DILG save more lives and empower more communities now that all systems have been unified into one nationwide system,” said Don Ferguson, NGA 911 LLC co-founder and CEO.
DILG secretary Jonvic Remulla said the program will replace around 30 fragmented hotlines with a single, easy-to-remember number for Filipinos nationwide.
NGA 911 co-founder Mike Amos said the company is also planning to deploy barangay-level stations and train at least 250 call dispatchers initially, with thousands of jobs expected to open as the service scales up.
