DAVAO City councilors are now considering crafting an ordinance penalizing prank callers of 911 and the Kean Gabriel Hotline.
City Council Majority Floor Leader Bernard Al-ag said in a recent media forum that he needs to coordinate with the Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) head regarding the prank call issue as they are now implementing administrative move to stop prank callers.
“If it is not effective, I think we can step in and let’s see what kind of policy we can create regarding this. I need to get statistics about this too because it is an existing problem,” he said.
He added that he can possibly refer the item to the new City Council public safety chair Mabel Acosta to initiate a policy/ies that will address the problem.
Acosta, in the same media forum, said that the increasing number of prank calls is a very valid concern.
“If we will tolerate it and will not do anything about it, it will continue and perhaps it will be exacerbated,” she said.
“Kung consistent yung number na ginagamit for prank calls then the city will be forced to implement a policy because this will send a signal to the constituency that life and death is a very serious thing. If you are making prank calls you may be taking away the opportunity for other people to use the same line to save a life - a very specific and urgent concern,” Acosta said.
Acosta said that this ordinance will hopefully remind the prank callers that life and death is a serious matter and not a joke.
“This concerns public safety and you might be a cause of death of somebody else,” she added.
Kean Gabriel hotline, in the previous report, has recorded more than 10,000 prank calls from the period of January to October this year alone.