Alaminos City in Pangasinan has become the first city in the country to boast of a cutting edge emergency communication command center to respond to the public safety concerns of its citizens.
Before Alaminos, the town of Morong, Rizal had been the first municipality in the Philippines to provide world-class, state of the art emergency response.
At the National Emergency Response Summit held last August, Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos stressed the need for a unified, nationwide 911 emergency response system that uses the latest technology, like in the US and Europe. He exhorted all LGUs to put up their own emergency response centers equipped with the latest technology.
Abalos said the need is critical – especially during La Niña. LGUs must respond swiftly and accurately to emergencies, save lives and property and deliver quality public service.
“Every city and town must set up its own local emergency call center,” Abalos said, and directed the National E911 Office to involve all relevant agencies in the mission, emphasizing that advanced technology is a must in emergency response.
E911 National Office Executive Director Francis Fajardo explained that cutting edge emergency response command centers staffed by well-trained and dedicated personnel who can handle crises and emergencies with precision and professionalism will serve as the nerve center for emergency operations in all LGUs. “The goal is to provide efficient and effective emergency response services to every corner of the nation,” Fajardo said.
The Alaminos and Morong initiatives are thus a hearty response to the call of the DILG Secretary and the National E911 Office.
Alaminos City Mayor Arth Bryan Celeste and Vice Mayor Jan Marionne Fontelera welcomed Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Juan Victor Llamas, E911 National Office Executive Director and Pangasinan First District Representative Arthur Celeste on September 10 as the City launched the Alaminos, Pangasinan Next Gen 911 Command Center in Poblacion.
Like Morong, Alaminos City has partnered with NGA 911 to provide their constituents with world-class and complete solutions for emergency communication and public safety services.
NGA Philippines is the local subsidiary of NGA 911, LLC headquartered in California, USA, globally known as the innovator of emergency calling technology, and the leader in Next Generation 911 (NG911) emergency communications worldwide.
Built on industry standards adopted by the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) in the United States and the European Emergency Number Association (EENA), the NGA 911 system and technology will revolutionize the way and speed with which the LGU can handle emergencies.
“LGUs are most capable and should operate their own command centers because they know their own terrain, people, and types of emergencies best,” Executive Director Fajardo observed.
“The E911 National Office is a disaster recovery site and we are here to support Alaminos and all other LGUs that will put up their emergency response command centers. We will continue to provide guidance and training and route 911 calls, consistent to their activation process,” Fajardo added.
NGA 911 Country Head Robert Llaguno said “All 911 calls to the Alaminos DRRM Command Center are now fully recorded and conference and transfer facilities are now seamless. Its capability to respond efficiently and accurately to emergency callers has been revolutionized. Now, when someone calls 911, the location of that particular caller is immediately provided and the search radius is limited to just about 5 yards with 90% accuracy.”
The Alaminos emergency response team has already completed its capacity development training, supported by the Emergency 911 National Office, Llaguno shared. Response time in Alaminos has been cut from 3 to 4 minutes, the standard response time set by the DILG and the PNP.
Mayor Celeste lauded the activation of the City’s 911 command center, saying, “This is no ordinary 911. When you call, you’re not going to be patched to another agency. If you call within Alaminos, it’s now the command center that answers. All calls are recorded and give the exact location. No longer do citizens need to remember 11 digits and look for a CDRRM member to get help. What you see in Hollywood movies where someone calls 911, we already have that in Alaminos. This technology will really help our citizens.”