911 system under review after Taguig senior’s death

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MANILA, Philippines — Following the death of a 71-year-old man due to a heart attack, the government is reviewing the response of the Unified 911 system to a medical distress in Taguig as authorities seek to determine whether there was a delay in dispatching emergency assistance.

Philippine National Police spokesman Col. Allen Rae Co said the PNP is aware of the viral incident and will support the probe ordered by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

“The SILG has ordered an investigation to establish the facts surrounding the incident. The PNP is willing to support the probe so we can determine the truth,” Co said at a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City yesterday.

Co said that apart from police emergencies, the Unified 911 system also handles fire and medical calls, with the initial assessment and dispatch handled by dedicated 911 personnel.

Under the system, a caller is connected to a live operator who assesses the emergency and determines which agency or service should respond. The operator may directly connect the caller to the appropriate service or relay the information to the agency that will dispatch an ambulance or other emergency unit.

Co said the system was recently improved, with callers now immediately speaking to a person instead of navigating through a menu that previously required them to press a number for police assistance.

He said the investigation would determine whether there were shortcomings in the response and what improvements may be needed.

Asked whether medical emergencies could be addressed within five minutes, Co replied: “We cannot say that. It could be less than five minutes. That is why we will look into this, again as ordered by the SILG, to determine what can still be improved.”

Co stressed that medical emergencies are not primarily handled by police personnel because they lack the specialized equipment and expertise needed for procedures, such as administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR.

But he said police can assist emergency vehicles in getting through traffic more quickly.

Co also urged 911 callers to provide clear and complete information, including their location and the nature of the emergency, and to remain on the line while operators assess the situation.

“There will be someone to receive your call and assess everything. The person receiving the call will guide you – what is happening, where are you, and not to put down the telephone,” Co said.

The information is then relayed through dedicated communication lines to the appropriate agency such as the PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection and medical emergency services.

Co cited a separate incident in Muntinlupa as an example of the system working as intended, saying a 911 call was immediately relayed to personnel on the ground, who responded within a minute.

The Taguig incident, he said, would undergo the same scrutiny to determine what happened and whether changes are needed.

“The PNP is willing to conduct a parallel probe,” Co said.

911 delay linked to incomplete address

The city government of Taguig said the 911 call taker did not provide the caller’s complete address, which led to delays in responding to his father’s health emergency.

Basty Askri posted on Facebook that he waited 10 minutes on Saturday before someone from the Unified 911 Command Center picked up the phone.

According to Askri, the person on the other end of the line kept saying “wait,” while in the background, people were “laughing” and “gossiping.”

Askri clarified in a separate Facebook post on Sunday that his brother went to the Maharlika Village barangay hall to ask for assistance for their father who was already unconscious.

Barangay personnel brought the father to the hospital in a patient transport vehicle.

The father died at the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital at 1:24 p.m. on Saturday.

In a statement, Taguig said it received a call from Unified 911 at 12:17 p.m. for ambulance assistance.

“The address provided by 911 to the Taguig Command Center was only lot and street number. There was no full street address or even a landmark,” the city government said.

“The Taguig Command Center repeatedly tried from 911 to get the complete address of the patient, but they weren’t able to provide the complete details to determine his exact location,” it added.

The command center then called the caller’s number, but received no response.

Askri said the ambulance dispatched by 911 arrived at their house at 12:38 p.m., 20 minutes after the call ended.

Interior Undersecretary for public safety Jed Patrick Mabilog explained that Askri, the Unified 911 and the Taguig Command Center were all part of a three-way call.

“From there, we would investigate where the laughing came from,” Mabilog told GMA’s “Unang Balita” yesterday.

Askri apologized for the “inappropriate” words he made against 911.