Participants display their Unified 911 ballers during the regionwide ceremonial poster-posting and awareness campaign at Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City on Friday (Aug. 14, 2026). The Police Regional Office in Western Visayas said it has responded to 258 emergency calls since the Unified 911 hotline was launched in June. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – The Police Regional Office in Western Visayas (PRO-6) on Friday intensified its information campaign on the Unified 911 national emergency hotline through a regionwide poster-posting and awareness drive.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director for Western Visayas Juan Jovian Ingeniero said the campaign aims to ensure that communities know where to seek help during emergencies.
“The Unified 911 provides a point of access. With just one call, the government will arrive to respond. [Having] one recognizable emergency hotline makes it easier for people to seek the right help at the right time,” he said in an interview.
Ingeniero added that calling 911 should become a reflex whenever an emergency occurs, pointing out that the Unified 911 hotline can already receive calls throughout Western Visayas.
He noted that some establishments, including banks and malls, are not yet fully aware of the hotline. He said these establishments usually display the contact numbers of hospitals and police stations, but not 911.
PRO-6 Regional Director Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said the national emergency hotline has received 258 calls since it was launched in Leganes, Iloilo in June.
The calls involved police, medical and fire emergencies, among others.
Tuaño also said the police need to further improve their response time, which is currently close to five minutes.
“As we continue with our exercises, we hope to hasten our response time to calls from the people here in Western Visayas,” he said.
He said 911 operators and local police personnel are encouraged to conduct weekly dry runs to “perfect” their response time.
Tuaño said the Leganes operations center currently faces a technical limitation, as it can receive calls from Smart and PLDT lines only.
The Iloilo City Government is working to establish an extension of the operations center to accommodate calls from subscribers of other telecommunications companies.
Authorities are also working to address mobility challenges in far-flung areas and expand the use of body-worn cameras.
Friday’s event featured the signing of a pledge of commitment, ceremonial wearing of 911 ballers, and the posting of posters and stickers to raise public awareness on the Unified 911.
Officials from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Fire Protection also joined the activity. (PNA)