Following President Ferdinand R. Marcos. Jr.’s directive to strengthen the emergency 911 system, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Friday urged provincial governors to acquire motorcycles for their local police to allow them to verify the legitimacy of incidents reported to the emergency hotline.

During the 7th General Assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines in Pasig City, Remulla asked for the governors’ support to make the 911 system more efficient as 60% of the calls it receives are from pranksters.

“Ito lang ang hihilingin ko sa inyo: bumili na kayo ng motorsiklo. Bigay n’yo sa mga pulis para sila lang muna ang magveverify kung legitimate ang tawag o hindi,” he said.

Remulla said purchasing motorcycles for the local police is a small investment for the governors to ensure that government resources will not be deployed or wasted for false emergencies. “Ayun lang ang investment n’yo, maliit lang naman iyon. It should be enough,” he said.

He shared that during his four terms as Cavite governor, he acquired a total of 800 police cars as logistical support for the local police force to allow them to respond quickly to calls for assistance from the public.

He said that the national government will shoulder all the expenses for the launching of the nationwide integrated 911 system as the President recently ordered adjustments to the national budget to support the 911 system.

“Ang investment lang ng LGUs is I ask you to give policemen access to motorcycles para first response, laging pulis para madetermine talaga ang nangyayari,” he said.

He said that towns will be provided with firetrucks and ambulances to ensure that they will be able to provide quick response to the public during emergencies.

“Ang 911 kasi balewala yan kung tatawag ka lang tapos ang response wala rin. Parang nagsusumbong ka lang. So kailangan ma-capacitate natin ang mga LGUs na may kakayanan silang mag respond,” said Remulla.

The DILG plans to launch the integrated 911 Emergency Response system by June in the Greater Manila area, Cebu, and Mindanao, and in each region every month thereafter.

Original Article At: https://www.dilg.gov.ph/news/Remulla-urges-govs-to-purchase-motorcycles-for-local-police/NC-2025-1018