IT IS WELCOME news that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has announced their new 911 emergency system, together with the Philippine National Police (PNP).
I wonder, however, whether they have already solved the integration and compatibility issues with other local emergency short code numbers such as 168 and 117.
Despite the fact that then President Rodrigo Duterte issued an Executive Order (EO) requiring all local government units (LGUs) to integrate with the national 911 system, some stood their ground and stuck to their local numbers.
In my desire to implement a nationally integrated 911 number, I had suggested a simple technical solution that could have solved the integration issues, but my suggestion had fallen into deaf ears.
I wish the DILG and the PNP all the luck in implementing their new 911 system, but if they run into integration issues, they are still welcome to revisit my technical solution.
My solution does not really require rocket science. All it requires is a basic knowledge of telephony, something that any engineer could easily do, if he is worth his salt.
I am simply talking about call forwarding and allow me to tell you how it works. If anyone will call 911 from anywhere, there is no need for call forwarding. But if anyone will call 168 or 117 or any other local emergency number, the call will automatically be forwarded to 911. That way, it will not conflict with some LGU’s wishes to keep their own local numbers.
I do not know yet how the new 911 system will work, but I wish that it is already able to address the interoperability issues that burdened the old system before. What I mean by that is that anyone should be able to contact the 911 call center regardless of whether they are dialing from a cell phone or a landline.
And if they are dialing from a cellphone, they should be able to contact the 911 call center regardless of their cellular provider.
I also wish that anyone dialing the 911 call center from anywhere should not be required anymore to dial an area code, and the call should be toll-free, regardless of where the call is coming from.
Technically, the 911 call center is simply just a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service provider, and there are many Filipino companies that are very good with providing BPO services.
If any LGU needs help with the 911 system, just let me know./PN
