The Philippine National Police (PNP) is aiming to raise its efficiency rate in handling Unified 911 emergency calls to 100 percent after recording a 96.15 percent rate from January to August.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the organization would continue improving its emergency response system in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., particularly by strengthening the assets available to personnel responding to calls.
“An efficiency rate of 96.15 percent is a strong performance, but for a service as critical as Unified 911, every second matters and every call could mean a life. We must not be satisfied with what we have achieved. Our goal is 100 percent efficiency because every caller deserves a swift, reliable, and life-saving response from the PNP,” Nartatez said in a statement Sunday.
The Unified 911 Hotline serves as the country’s central emergency response system, receiving requests for police assistance, fire suppression, search and rescue, ambulance services and other urgent needs.
Nartatez said investments in response assets would be among the PNP’s priorities in the utilization of its 2027 budget.
He said the PNP would equip its personnel with the necessary assets and capabilities to shorten response times and ensure that emergency calls are properly linked to personnel on the ground.
“Every emergency call must translate into an actual response on the ground. We are investing in the right assets and capabilities so our personnel can act faster, reach those in need sooner, and deliver the appropriate assistance when every second counts,” Nartatez said.
The PNP chief said the agency’s goal goes beyond answering emergency calls and includes ensuring that those seeking help receive timely and effective assistance.
“Our goal is not simply to answer calls, but to turn every call for help into a timely and effective response,” he said.
The Unified 911 system was launched nationwide in September 2025. In its first year, the system logged 494,338 emergency-service calls, including 86,614 incident calls monitored by the PNP. Of the police incident calls, 96.38 percent were responded to within the five-minute benchmark from Aug. 1, 2025 to Aug. 31, 2026.
Photo courtesy of Safety Net Project
Comments