911 ACTIVATED. Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III (2nd from right) and other officials inspect the one response command center at the Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) on Tuesday (Aug. 29, 2023). The PDRRMO, in coordination with other national and provincial government agencies, will handle the 911 emergency hotline that has been activated to cater to emergencies in Pangasinan. (Photo courtesy of Pangasinan PIO)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – Residents of Pangasinan may now call 911 for their emergencies after the provincial government activated the emergency hotline, along with the launch of the one response command center.
In a phone interview on Wednesday, the Pangasinan Provincial Information Office (PIO) said the 911 emergency hotline number and the one response command center are under the supervision of the Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
The hotline will cater to the different emergencies of the residents including calamities, crimes, and accidents, among others.
“Calls will be free of charge. Landline and cellphone can be used. No load, no problem. You can still call 911 even without load,” the PIO said.
It added that measures are in place to address prank calls and punish those making them.
Governor Ramon Guico III signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Aug. 29 with the Office of the Civil Defense Ilocos regional office and other concerned agencies for the activation of the hotline number.
“Napakaganda at may 911 na tayo. Put the number on all our vehicles. Ikalat natin na may 911 na tayo (This is good that we now have our very own 911. Put the number on all our vehicles. Let us spread the information that we now have our own 911),” Guico said during the MOA signing.
The one response command center houses a unit of the PDRRMO in coordination with other national government agencies such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, and other provincial government departments that will handle 911 emergency cases.
Guico, however, said aside from addressing emergency cases in the province, the provincial government also aims to move informal settler residents from geo-hazard zones to more decent, safe, and livable environments.
“In the future baka yong mga nire-rescue niyo hindi na sa bangka kasi ang plano yong mga nasa geo-hazard zones na informal settlers ay mailipat sa konkretong pabahay, disente at condo-type (In the future, you might not rescue via boats anymore because we plan that those in geo-hazard zones who are informal settlers will be moved in concrete housing, decent, and condo-type),” he said.
The activation of the hotline was in line with Provincial Resolution 638 approved in 2018.
Meanwhile, a community infirmary in Barangay Carmen East Rosales town in Pangasinan is aiming to become a licensed Level 1 hospital with its new building, upgraded facilities, and equipment.
The Conrado F. Estrella Regional and Trauma Medical Center (CFERTMC), a Department of Health (DOH)-run facility, now has a new three-story, 100-bed capacity fully air-conditioned building with new facilities and medical equipment installed including advanced radiology, X-Ray, MRI, dialysis, physical therapy sections, emergency room, laboratory, pharmacy, OB-Gyne, Operating room, delivery, room, surgical room, colonoscopy, ward, intensive care unit, E-Konsulta unit, and administrative sections, the DOH Center for Health Development Ilocos Region (CHD-1) said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We are aiming to be licensed as a Level 1 hospital so that we can start our surgical operations in our new and upgraded operating rooms. We can now operate emergency cases and accommodate patients who will undergo appendectomy at cesarean delivery,” Medical Center Chief Dr. Emerson Patawaran said.
He said once their application is approved, they would be able to conduct ultrasound, 2D echocardiography for those with coronary or heart-related concerns, blood transfusion, and X-ray examination in the hospital.
A Level 1 hospital has an operating room, a recovery room, maternity facilities, isolation facilities, a clinical laboratory, an imaging facility, and a pharmacy, the DOH-CHD-1 said.
It also has a comprehensive care center for trauma and is capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury from prevention through rehabilitation, it added.
“The regional office supports its journey towards becoming an apex hospital that will further improve its performance, ensure healthcare and manpower efficiency, cost reduction, sustainability, and most importantly improve patient care and safety,” DOH-CHD-1 regional director Paula Paz Sydiongco said.
The facility caters to residents of the eastern part of Pangasinan, including nearby towns of Nueva Ecija and Tarlac.
“With higher level hospitals, more residents will be given proper health care and treatment without even going to bigger hospitals to get specialty care. Public hospitals will be made accessible to the public and this is one of the objectives of universal health care,” Sydiongco said.
The CFERTMC was created through Republic Act 11558, which established a general hospital in the town of Rosales, Pangasinan under the direct control and supervision of the DOH.
It was opened on April 7 last year as an infirmary that offered various services such as an out-patient-department, 24/7 emergency consultation, fully functional birthing and maternal, hospital admission and ward, laboratory primary clinical laboratory, ankle-brachial index for diabetic patients, pharmacy, and dispensary. (PNA)
