MANDAUE City has upgraded its capability to respond to calls for emergency as it adopted Guardian, a mobile-based application that the public could use all day for free in cases of fire, medical emergency, crime and other difficult circumstances.
With the authority of the Mandaue City Council, Mayor Luis Gabriel R. Quisumbing recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with homegrown software developer SugboTek Inc. for the city to adopt Guardian.
Downloadable for free through the internet, Guardian allows the public to use their mobile phones to either seek assistance or report incidents “by just a single tap on the phone,” said Cloyd B. Dedicatoria, SugboTek managing director.
The alarm immediately reaches the Mandaue command center, whose operator will call the one who alerted them for more details, while using a parallel Guardian software to dispatch emergency assets and deploy needed personnel.
Other than the staff and equipment of Mandaue’s ACERT (Accident Control and Emergency Response Team) and other government agencies, Guardian can immediately alert volunteer responders like physicians, nurses and peacekeepers.
Dedicatoria disclosed that training has been ongoing for city personnel who will operate the program at the Bantay Mandaue Command Center operated by the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO).
When ready, Mandaue City residents will be encouraged to download Guardian Volunteer from Google Play and sign up for access in case of emergency through private Wi-Fi or mobile data internet, and soon using the city’s intranet system.
The public could also now connect through Pipol Konek, the public Wi-Fi system rolled out by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), albeit yet still limited to public schools and a few public areas.
Under the MOA, the city will subsequently set up Guardian command centers in every barangay that will further organize local volunteers and responders, equip these centers with existing computer assets or acquire new ones.
The Cebu chapter of Radio Emergency Assistance Volunteer Organization also adopted Guardian to augment and improve its capability to respond to emergencies and exigencies.
Like with Mandaue City, SugboTek is working with a few other local government units to adopt and roll out Guardian, including Caloocan and Malabon cities in Metro Manila, Davao City and President Roxas in Zamboanga del Norte. (S)