911 says still working on ‘perfect’ geolocation

MANILA, Philippines — Emergency 911 Executive Director Francis Fajardo said the hotline’s system has a geolocation feature to trace a caller’s whereabouts, but it has yet to be perfected.

“There are instances when it’s able to locate callers…But, for now, we’re still working on a perfect geolocation,” Fajardo said in a press conference in Quezon City on Tuesday.

Fajardo made the statement as authorities investigated a complaint by actor and performer Basty Askri, who claimed in a now-viral social media post last Saturday that he waited 10 minutes before a 911 dispatcher responded to his call for assistance when his elderly father suffered a heart attack.

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The 911 system received Askri’s call at 12:15 p.m. on Aug. 15, according to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary for Public Safety Jed Mabilog, who also attended the press conference.

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READ: PNP sees ‘room for improvement’ in 911 system but still cites gains

Askri was queued in the system for three minutes and 23 seconds before a dispatcher asked him for his information for a minute and 25 seconds, Mabilog said.

The dispatcher then initiated a conference call between Askri and the Taguig Command Center that lasted four minutes and 22 seconds before the latter dispatched a patient transport vehicle (PTV), he added.

However, Mabilog said the Taguig Command Center’s PTV had difficulty finding the location when it arrived at Maharlika Village.

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“There was an attempt to call and ask for additional directions, but unfortunately, [they] were unable to establish contact [with the caller],” he explained.

He noted that Askri had supposedly told the dispatcher that assistance was needed at “Block 7, Lot 1, Maharlika Village.”

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“Last night, when we visited there, the streets had names,” Mabilog said.

‘Eye-opener’

“It’s an eye-opener, too. The dispatcher should’ve gotten the name of the street and the number, if any, so that it would be easier to find. This is not saying that it’s anybody’s fault, but there was an inadequacy, and this will help us improve in the future so we can apply it,” he added.

Mabilog noted that investigators were still verifying when the Taguig Command Center deployed its PTV, when and how many times responders attempted to contact Askri, and where the PTV had gone.

READ: DILG probes 911 response delay in Taguig medical emergency

Fajardo said 33 dispatchers were available on the day of Askri’s call.

He also said investigators identified the dispatcher who handled Askri’s call and obtained their statement.

The dispatcher remained on duty, Fajardo added.

In a follow-up social media post last Sunday, however, Askri said his phone call history showed that his call with 911 ended at around 12:18 p.m., while the Taguig Command Center’s PTV attempted to call him at 12:38 p.m.

“My sister’s response was that we are already in the hospital. And yes, by that time, we were already at the hospital,” he said.

“This is why we cannot personally confirm whether the ambulance associated with the 911 response had arrived at our house or what happened to that response,” he added.

The actor and performer said his father was transported to a hospital after his brother sought help from the barangay, which deployed its PTV.

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Askri also acknowledged that the matter had already been referred to DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla. He declined to answer further questions and deferred to the agency’s ongoing investigation to determine any lapses in the system. /mcm