Unified 911 emergency call system to roll out nationwide on Sept. 11

Filipinos who are in need of emergency services may simply dial 911 starting Sept. 11.

On its website, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said 911 will replace more than 30 local emergency numbers.

The DILG noted that the country has operated on fragmented hotlines for years, leaving callers unsure whom to reach and causing uneven response times.

But through 911, all emergency calls—police, fire, medical, disaster response—will be routed through a single, integrated network linking the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and local governments.

The service is free, available 24/7, and can accommodate Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Waray, Tausug, and other Philippine languages, according to the DILG.

There will also be a target response time of five minutes for each call.

Last July, the DILG announced the partial roll-out of the unified 911 emergency call system in the Ilocos Region, Metro Manila, Central Visayas, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as well as provinces in the Greater Manila Area like Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

The agency noted that the unified 911 system will also include geolocation tools and live-streaming capabilities.

In 2018, then-president Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order making 911 the nationwide emergency number, replacing Patrol 117. It became operational in 2020.

Under the DILG's supervision, local governments were tasked to establish and run local 911 centers within their area of jurisdiction using their own funds.

Last August 2024, the DILG partnered with the private tech firm, Next Generation Advanced 911, to "revitalize" the country's emergency call system.