• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Bacolod City’s localized 911 emergency service logged an average 50 prank calls a day, causing the hotline to be congested that led to more problems, Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said Oct. 12.
Pornan recalled one instance when an individual called at least 20 times, but without an actual emergency.
She also recalled receiving a call from a child, but when police officers were dispatched, it was later determined to be a prank.
She said that law enforcement can act against fraudulent callers if their identities are confirmed, though some calls only display unrecognized phone numbers.
Pornan warned that such prank calls congest the system and hinder emergency responders from addressing legitimate 911 calls.
“If they call (911) it should be an emergency, if not, the city has another non-emergency hotline for problems like trash or water,” she said.
The city will refer the numbers of persistent prank callers to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for official blocking.
Pornan said the localized emergency hotline logs an average of 261 total calls a day, including prank calls. | TMD
