BAGUIO EMERGENCY RESPONDERS IMPROVE SERVICES TO SAVE LIVES

May 25, 2025 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

A medical doctor from the Baguio City Health Services Office said the city’s emergency responders are continuously finding ways to improve their services and beat the five- to seven-minute response time to minimize the loss of lives and properties. Dr. Dandeo Halog said in a media interview on Thursday that they are coordinating with the response agencies to ensure all systems function smoothly.
“Emergencies are life and death situations. That is why we respond to them in the least time possible,” he said. He said anyone’s call to
“911” while in Baguio, using any cellular phone network, would enable the person to directly reach the command center at the Baguio
Convention Center, which would immediately dispatch the appropriate responders based on the information provided.

He said some challenges are beyond their control but they ask the public to respect and give way to the responders. “We do have a lot of
motorists who give way when hearing an ambulance of a fire truck siren but there are some who take advantage of the free way that will allow them to elude the traffic congestion,” Halog said in Filipino. In an emergency, he said, every second counts and it could either lead to the death or survival of a patient, and prevention of a fire from spreading. “Kapag very poor ang traffic management ay nakakamatay. Emergency na, ayaw pang tumabi (Poor traffic management can lead to death. It is already an emergency yet some still refuse to give way),” Halog lamented.

Earlier, the city government reiterated the importance of every 911 call for the response agencies, including the Baguio City Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Emergency Medical Service, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the major hospitals, and private rescue and emergency responders. “We have ambulances and patient transport service (PTV) that responds to emergencies but there is a need for a caller to identify the specific emergency to allow the dispatcher from the command center to send the correct unit. A PTV only has basic equipment compared to an ambulance that is why it is necessary to identify the specific emergency,” Halog said.

Liza Agoot/PNA