By Vince Jacob Visaya
TUGUEGARAO CITY — “Just one call to 911 and help from the police will immediately be on the way.”
These was the assurance of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III as he emphasized the significance of the national 911 emergency hotline here on Saturday.
Torre was the guest of honor and speaker at the Pavvurulun Afi Festival grand opening at the People’s Gymnasium on August 9.
Torre asked villagers to use their mobile phones and try the system for swift police assistance.
He later asked one of the guests, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino III to have a test call in Batanes island-province.
The test call proved successful, drawing cheers from the audience.
Torre highlighted the PNP’s 5-minute response policy, which ensures that “emergency calls are responded to within five minutes, regardless of the caller’s location across the country.”
“You no longer need to look for the police at their stations, because the police are now accessible through your mobile phones,” he said.
Torre, however, said the system may be proven effective in many parts of the country but its reliability still depends on telecommunication signal strength. In areas with weak or no mobile signal, emergency calls may face connectivity issues, he admitted.#
