Bicol emergency hotlines suffer disruptions amid surge in rescue requests

ALBAY, Philippines – Due to the high volume of messages and calls, along with internet connectivity issues in many areas still submerged in the Bicol Region, the 9-1-1 and other emergency hotlines have been experiencing downtime as rescue operations continued on Thursday, October 24.

“Because of the influx of rescue requests, calls and messages are queued for our dispatch team. While we cannot guarantee rescue for everyone today, we do our best to forward requests to other rescue teams by coordinating with local government units,” said Jane Tam, a lead emergency response volunteer stationed in Pasay, who remotely assists locals from Camarines Sur and parts of Albay.

Tam, along with her friends Jonalyn Elevado and Ray Elevado, expanded their operations from one small team to three, now helping hundreds of Bikolanos still in need of rescue.

Since 8:30 am on Thursday, Tam and her team have faced major challenges and delays reaching Barangay San Miguel in Nabua, Camarines Sur, and nearby areas due to strong water currents. They also reported communication breakdowns because of power outages, which have hindered coordination with their on-ground volunteers.

“Communication channels have been experiencing downtime because we currently lack a power source for our responders to charge their devices,” Tam said.

Flooding continued to affect parts of Camarines Sur, and the province has not yet been fully energized to prevent further electrocution incidents.

Melody Joy Adille, the team leader of the 9-1-1 emergency hotline in Legazpi City, reported similar issues, leading them to use an alternative hotline for emergencies. They also partnered with the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) in Bicol and Rappler to help disseminate the alternative number to those trapped and in need of rescue.

“While the situation is more manageable now, calls continue to come in one after the other. In recent days, the volume of calls was overwhelming, and prank callers further complicated our operations,” Adille said.

According to Adille, they have had to double-check calls to verify whether they were legitimate, as prank calls can lead to serious consequences. Once a number is flagged as a prank, it is permanently blocked by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) from reaching emergency hotlines.

“We urge everyone to avoid making prank calls so we can focus on responding to those in urgent need of help,” Adille added.

She noted that it would be helpful if callers could provide crucial information, such as the location and nearest landmark, the number of people needing rescue, and the contact details of individuals involved.

“We coordinate with various agencies to deploy rescue teams, provided we receive the necessary details directly,” Adille said.

The 911 Bicol headquarters shared an alternative contact number for emergencies: 0977-772-3909, which can be used when the original hotline is down.

Limuel Carl Epino, an online disaster response volunteer, stressed the importance of volunteers in ensuring that rescue requests posted online are communicated to authorities for immediate action.

“When relaying emergency details to rescuers, we do our best to monitor social media posts from people asking for help so we can report them to rescue teams. There is a significant gap between people and disaster response teams, as many are unsure what to do first, so they turn to social media,” Epino said.

He clarified that the “FB Rescuers” act as a bridge between disaster victims and rescue teams, mainly focusing on alerting government response units to ensure timely assistance.

“During Tropical Storm Kristine, we noticed problems with the government’s emergency hotlines. Many numbers posted online were unreachable, so we stepped in. Despite being overwhelmed, we managed to help,” he said.

Youth volunteers in Bicol are calling on the government to invest in improving the capacity of 911 and other emergency hotlines, as well as upgrading the rescue equipment provided to local government units.

Many netizens have launched donation drives and relief efforts for those affected by the Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, offering load assistance to those needing to report emergencies. – Rappler.com

Reinnard Balonzo is a senior journalism student at Bicol University-College of Arts and Letters. An Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2024, he is also chairperson of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Bicol.