Salonga Center initiates 911 for province

Last October 28, 2015, the Silliman University Salonga Center along with different agencies discussed the possibility of using 911 as the main emergency number for Negros Oriental.

‘Call 911’ initiated by Salonga Center

The Salonga Center for Law & Development, along with different agencies, is recommending the use of the international code “911” as the main emergency number for Negros Oriental.

The idea was inspired by Davao City’s Central Communications & Emergency Response Center.

In his visit to Dumaguete in February, Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said 9-1-1 should be the numbers to call in case of emergency because it’s the code that comes to memory worldwide.

9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan, intended for use in emergency circumstances only.In over 98 percent of locations in the US and Canada, dialing 9-1-1 from any telephone will link the caller to an emergency dispatch center called a Public-Safety Answering Point which can send emergency responders to the caller’s location. In approximately 96 percent of the U.S., the Enhanced 9-1-1 system automatically pairs caller numbers with a physical address.

Since the Davao model is a costly investment, and requires technical know-how, the concept in the Province is to start with a group of people who would dispatch the calls from those in emergency situations to the government agency concerned.

“That way, we could have a Center for a start,” said Silliman Law Dean Atty. Mikhail Lee Maxino.

He lamented that currently, we have to remember a lot of numbers even though the government services may be on call.

He explained that the response would be much faster if people only had to dial one set of three numbers, instead of searching through the various emergency numbers for the police, fire department, hospital, etc.

The idea was well-received by the Province, represented by Assistant Provl. Administrator Atty. Froilan Pinili, who said they could try to include the investment of a proposed 911 Center under the Provincial Peace and Order Council.

Another concern was how to sustain the operations of the Center 24/7 (24 hours daily, seven days a week).

Atty. Pinili said the Province has a joint task force led by the Police but who are only mainly active during disasters. He said the task force can include ONe Rescue-Emergency Medical Services, the Philipppine Coast Guard, public and private hospitals, the Fil-Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the call centers/business process outsourcing companies, and the media.

Roberto Montebon, president of the Silliman University Medical Center Foundation Inc., has committed to train the dispatchers in First Aid.

He added that the communication system between and among the municipalities/cities should be enhanced so that the response is faster.

Montebon said response time could be cut in half if the ambulances from the towns were the ones to directly rush their patients to the hospitals in Dumaguete, instead of requesting the ambulances of the Dumaguete-based hospital to go north or south to pick up the patient.

Others who joined the preliminary discussions where SUMC vice president for Nursing & Patient Services Fredita Tan, SUMC Coordinator Dr. Catherine Genove, Globe Telecommunications representatives Lemuel Dizon and Rico Cornelio, Merton Teves and Samuel Ansok of the Dumaguete Police Department, Earl Manny Uy of the Dumaguete Fire Department. (PR)