Unified 911 in the Philippines improves emergency response nationwide

With the rollout of Unified 911, the Philippines now has a single reliable hotline for police, fire, medical and disaster emergencies. Filipinos gain faster access to life-saving services: calls can be traced in seconds and first responders dispatched within minutes because the system can pinpoint callers’ locations.

Unified 911 is a joint initiative of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), PLDT Inc. (through PLDT Enterprise and ICT subsidiary ePLDT), NGCS Inc., and NGA 911 Philippines, the local arm of U.S.-based NGA 911 LLC. The platform brings next-generation emergency communications technology already proven in the United States and Europe.

Unified system improves speed and efficiency

The system features GPS-based location tracking that enables faster, more precise dispatch of emergency teams. It uses an Internet Protocol backbone to transmit voice, text and video between callers and responders in real time, improving situational awareness and decision-making. Unified 911 integrates the Philippine National Police, the BFP and local government emergency units into a centralized network, with plans to add more agencies and capabilities.

To ensure reliability and resiliency, the network is hosted on ePLDT’s Pilipinas Cloud and the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform. NGA 911’s cloud-native NG9-1-1 solution replaces decades-old infrastructure and brings the same core technology used in the U.S. and Europe to the Philippines.

Don Ferguson, Co-Founder and CEO of NGA 911 LLC, said the cloud-based NG9-1-1 platform “will help the DILG save more lives and empower more communities now that all systems have been unified into one nationwide system.”

Leadership emphasizes public safety commitment

Launched on September 11 in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Bagong Pilipinas directive, the system will consolidate roughly 30 fragmented local hotlines into a single universal number: 911, DILG Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said.

Robert Llaguno, NGA 911 Philippines country manager, said: “We have been entrusted to build the 911 mission-critical systems and communication facilities that will help save lives, protect property, and unify our first responder communications. This partnership aims for nothing short of unparalleled service.”

CICC, PLDT, NGA and government partners say they will continue working together to expand coverage, add more response features and strengthen resilience so Filipinos nationwide can rely on faster and more effective emergency assistance.