BAGUIO 911 EMERGING AS PRIMARY HELPLINE IN CITY

November 9, 2024 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

The Baguio 911 helpline operated at the Baguio Smart City Command Center (SC3) is emerging to be an essential resource for emergency and general assistance in the city after posting a significant increase in calls received since it was commissioned on Oct. 12, 2021. The SC3 for this year recorded a total of 11,802 legitimate calls as of October 31, 2024 primarily through Baguio 911 albeit it uses other telecommunication platforms like iCom, Baguio in my Pocket
(BIMP) and supporting hotlines.

SC3 Officer-in-Charge System Analyst IV Adam Bert Lacay said the number of calls this year represents a significant increase of 61.66 percent compared to the previous three years. Mayor Benjamin Magalong said this suggests the growing awareness and reliance of Baguio City residents on the Baguio 911 for assistance in emergencies and general needs. The SC3 reported that calls received through Baguio 911 consistently increased every year. From the measly 439 in 2021, calls increased to 2,737 in 2022 and to 4,227 in 2024.

Lacay said majority or 73 percent of the calls received and attended to were for medical assistance showing “essential
role the command center plays in providing healthcare-related support to the community.” The most frequently
reported cases were fainting, body weakness, and stroke, indicating a high demand for medical services, especially for patient transport. Calls for police assistance came in second at 14 percent “suggesting a steady demand for law enforcement support in various situations.” The common incidents reported were nuisance, traffic collisions and violent behavior.

Requests for general assistance was third accounting for 10 percent of the total calls and were often related to
environmental hazards like oil spill, fallen trees, and sparkling electrical wires, according to Lacay. The rest or three percent of the calls were for fire and rescue assistance. Lacay said this type of emergency requires significant response resources. Currently, Smart Telecommunications and Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) numbers are the only ones that directly transmit Baguio 911 calls to the SC3 upon dialing while calls from other networks like Globe are initially received by 911 National and then forwarded to the SC3.

Continuing efforts to integrate and cross-connect other networks like Globe were made for direct transmission of 911 calls and Globe last Nov. 2, 2024 informed the city that geo-fencing activity within the borders of Baguio City is already underway and will take two to three weeks to complete leading to the finalization of the cross connection. As to prank calls which used to be a big challenge to the unit, a notable decrease was noted in the years following 2022.
“By 2024, prank calls dropped to just 863, representing a decline of over 93.34 percent from the 2022 peak. This reduction may indicate the success of public awareness campaigns, stricter enforcement measures, or technological improvements in call screening,” Lacay said.

Aileen P. Refuerzo/Baguio-PIO