When tourist traffic swells in Camiguin Island this summer, the municipality of Mambajao will be good and ready to look out for its residents’ and the island visitors’ safety and security.
The third-class municipality in northern Mindanao has just activated its 911 hotline at the Mambajao Operation Center at Lakas Poblacion, with Mayor Yñigo Jesus Romualdo and Congressman Jurdin Jesus Romualdo leading the activation ceremony on February 27.
Mambajao 911 calls are now routed and picked up directly by the emergency response command center. Data dashboards summarize information visually and help users understand data better to make decisions faster. This month the Mambajao command center also launched its automated incident ticketing system that dramatically improves response times, streamlines workflows, and reduces error.
More advanced features of the next-gen emergency system will be provided in the next few months. These are caller’s location, the ability to send photos and videos through the system, CCTV interoperability, and auto transcription that converts recorded or live audio into text within minutes – all actionable data gathered by the system to better serve the community.
“Finally, we have this next generation advanced 911 system for emergency response and assistance. It’s really here, and it’s really happening. Our plan for the municipality is turning into reality, one by one,” Mayor Romualdo said.
Mambajao started its next generation advanced 911 journey last October when it put up a command center already equipped with the cutting-edge technology. Mambajao became the first municipality in northern Mindanao that could respond to distress calls in unprecedented speed by partnering with NGA 911 Philippines, the local subsidiary of NGA 911, LLC headquartered in California, USA, the global innovator of emergency calling technology and the leader in Next Generation 911 (NG911) emergency communications worldwide.
Mambajao joined Morong, Rizal; Alaminos City, Pangasinan; Cebu City, Cagayan De Oro City and soon, Navotas City in Metro Manila and Bustos, Bulacan as LGUs already equipped with the world-class emergency response system.
Last Feb. 7, 2025, during the 7th General Assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, DILG Secretary Juanito “Jonvic” Remulla called on local chief executives to extend full support to the country’s implementation of the 911 system for a faster, more efficient response to emergencies.
With the advanced emergency response system in place, island guests and residents can feel secure in Mambajao this summer, knowing that wherever emergencies may happen, they can be provided assistance in just a few minutes,” said Ms. Raquel Ranara, Mambajao DRRM officer.
She said response time to emergency calls has dramatically been shortened to just 3 to 5 or 7 minutes when the system was activated. Emergency calls are mostly for medical assistance or reports of vehicular accidents.
Robert Llaguno, Country Head of NGA 911 Philippines, explained that upon full implementation, when someone calls 911, the location of that particular caller is immediately provided, and the search radius is limited to just about 5 yards with 90% accuracy.
“NGA technology can ingress various types of available systems or applications and integrate them with local government’s CCTV systems that will provide front liners and first responders with enhanced location and situational awareness. We can also integrate with instant messaging applications and provide an omnichannel queue.”
E911 National Office Executive Director Francis Fajardo said cutting-edge emergency response command centers are staffed by well-trained and dedicated personnel and can handle crises and emergencies with precision and professionalism.
