Sorsogon Gov. Francis “Chiz” Escudero (File photo)
SORSOGON CITY – The 911 Emergency Hotline at the Sorsogon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) here is set to be formally launched on Tuesday to start serving the residents of Sorsogon province.
Sorsogon Gov. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, in a statement on Sunday, said the 911 hotline has undergone a series of test runs and would be operational 24/7 starting Sept. 1 under the supervision of the PDRRMO.
“This is the typical 911 emergency hotline that we have seen on television, equipped with computer and communication systems manned by trained personnel to entertain, and assist emergency calls in times of emergencies such as medical assistance, fire, accidents, crimes and other disaster related events," he said.
Escudero in a follow-up interview said the 911 command center would be manned by nine trained personnel — a center administrator, encoder and seven registered nurses to act as call center operators.
When asked why he hired nurses as tele-communicators, he said he preferred nurses as they could immediately give medical advice to callers. “Situation has it that every time we have an emergency call, callers always get panic so under this condition our responders can promptly assist the caller on how to give first aid while waiting for the responders,” the governor said.
Also, a Global Positioning System (GPS) has been installed in all emergency vehicles at the PDRRMO as well as the fire trucks of the Bureau Fire Protection units across the province.
Escudero also plans to install GPS in ambulances of private hospitals in the province.
Meanwhile, to create awareness on the 911 emergency hotline, the governor has tapped the services of the Sorsogon Electric Cooperatives (SORECO 1 and II) to post the designated 911 control number of villages at electric posts for easy reference of responders.
He likewise asked the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to pass an ordinance prescribing sanctions and penalties against “prank callers” using the 911 hotline.
“This is a work in progress. Please don’t expect it to be perfect at the onset. Please don’t expect it to not have any problems from the beginning. It will encounter some difficulties and growing pains, but hopefully, in the next couple of weeks or utmost months, smoothly running na po ang ating 911 system,” Escudero said. (PNA)
