A DIRECT line to the police chief can now be reached.
The 24/7 hotline “Text Bato” project of the Philippine National Police Community Relations Group allows ordinary citizens to report crime incidents and law enforcement concerns directly to the PNP Chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
Once these reports reach the hotline, the Text Bato platform will shoot a confirmation to the sender with ‘PNPBATO’ as the unique sender name.
The PNP will then verify these reports to determine the appropriate course of action.
Leading telecom and digital services provider PLDT and its mobile subsidiary Smart Communications are providing a text platform and internet connectivity for the "Text Bato" hotline service of the PNP.
Smart also assigned a dedicated wireless device for Dela Rosa himself to personally access all incoming messages and even have the option to reply directly to every message.
Smart subscribers can text relevant police concerns by typing BATO (space) their message then send to 7444-2286.
PLDT and Smart Spokesman and Public Affairs Head Ramon Isberto said the telco will be committed to help the PNP in making its services widely accessible to the general public.
“Aside from enabling this service, we also pledge to support the PNP in protecting the privacy of participating subscribers and in ensuring the confidentiality of each message transmitted to the text hotline,” Isberto added.
PLDT is also backing up the hotline system by providing internet connectivity at the Text Bato Operations Center providing round-the-clock support for Dela Rosa in verifying the text reports and mobilizing speedy response.
Text Bato will focus on getting citizen-generated reports about law enforcement and police concerns such as leads on criminal activities, erring cops and traffic management issues, just to name a few.
Text Bato message syntax for Smart subscribers: - BATO (space) message then send to 7444-2286. - P1 fee applies for every SMS.