BAGUIO City Vice Mayor Edison Bilog is filing a resolution strongly urging the telecommunication networks in the City of Baguio to allow their consumers or subscribers to be able to text or call the Emergency Hotline Numbers of the city even without load to report medical, fire, rescue, or police assistance.
In his proposal, Bilog stated that Section 16 of the Local Government Code of 1991 provides that “every local government unit shall exercise the powers expressly granted, those necessarily implied therefrom, as well as powers necessary, appropriate, or incidental for its efficient and effective governance, and those which are essential to the promotion of the general welfare.” It likewise specified that LGUs shall maintain peace and order, and preserve the comfort and convenience of its inhabitants.
It will be remembered that President Rodrigo Duterte in his fight against crime and corruption has launched in August 2016 emergency hotline numbers which could be called in cases of medical, fire, rescue and police assistance. In the City of Baguio, it is also a policy to accelerate the use of its emergency hotline numbers that provide quick response to emergency situations by providing unhampered accessibility to those said numbers.
However, these numbers could not be texted or be called if the individual does not have load on its mobile phone or an existing landline telephone, which could prove futile since emergency situations or incidence could have been immediately acted upon or attended to and would eventually result to saving more lives and property. The said measure if approved in the City Council will direct the City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office to coordinate with the telecommunication networks in the city as to the list of emergency hotline numbers that may be texted or called by the constituents during such situations.