REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

%Yy
>” RECEIVED @

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City DATE:
Time:
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS oa =
First Regular Session - &
ney Oo
House Bit No, 0428

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. GARY C. ALEJANO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

It is a fact that criminality and other public disturbance pose grave threat to peace and order
that is why dedicated efforts both from government and private sectors are needed at all
times. Base from the data for the Philippine National Police (PNP), the number of reported
crimes has been rising while the ability of the police to solve crimes has decreased. Though
this may be due to the underreporting by local police units in the previous years, the spike in
statistics is still alarming. In 2015, the number of reported crimes soared by 46% in the first
five (5) months compared to the same period the previous year. The same trend was observed
in 2014. By the end of the first five (5) months of that year, erime incidents rose by 18%
compared to 2013 numbers."

Henee, it is still imperative not only upon the government but also upon the private sector to
employ and make use of all available mechanisms to help curb criminality.

After President Duterte assumed office in July 2016, the President has launched hotline
number 911, replacing the existing 711 hotline number, which was patterned after the same
system that was implemented in Davao City. The national emergency telephone number 9-1-
1 is available 24/7, and is managed by the Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG).

Hotline 9-1-1 seeks to connect concerned government agencies for immediate response in
emergency situations. Despite the numerous issuances of the government which aims to
establish a national emergency hotline, 9-1-1 can be further improved and developed to
contribute effectively in promoting crime prevention and community safety.

This bill aims to strengthen and reinforce National Emergency Hotline 911 by
institutionalizing it. The proposed measure specifically seeks to address the problem posed by
illegitimate or prank calls. Stiffer penalties in the form of a fine and or imprisonment shall be
put in place under this bill in order to curb the rising number of illegitimate or prank calls.

In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

.

~ |AN'

* Ranada, P., A look at the State of Crime, Drugs in the Philippines. oe Jamuary 5, 2016. Rappler News. Retrieved
from http://www rappler.com/nation/118004-crime-drugs-phi



REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 5428

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. GARY C. ALEJANO _

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING AND FURTHER DEVELOPING NATIONAL
EMERGENCY HOTLINE "911" AS THE NATIONWIDE EMERGENCY
ASSISTANCE TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "National Emergency
Hotline '911' Act of 2017."

SEC. 2. Institutionalization of "911" as the Nationwide Emergency Assistance
Telephone Number. ~
(a) Telephone number "911" is hereby designated as the nationwide emergency
assistance number both for landline and wireless telephone systems in the whole
territory of the Philippines.

(b) There shall be a Hotline "911" Public Safety Answering Center (Call Center) in
every region, province, city, municipality and Barangay.

(c) The major service responders of Hotline "911" are
1. The Philippine National Police (PNP);

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP);

The Bureau of Jail Management and. Penology (BJMP);

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA);

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI);

The Emergency Assistance and Response Network (EARnet);

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA);

Other agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways

(DPWH), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Social Welfare

and Development (DSWD), the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Boy

Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines;

9. Volunteer non-government organizations (NGOs), and

10. Other affiliated civic sector groups and public safety volunteers

SNYAWRYN

(c) The EARnet is a network of responders composed of government and private
institutions, NGOs, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Special Rescue Unit

1


of the BFP, in coordination with the DPWH, the DSWD, the MMDA, the DOH
and other government agencies and with the cooperation of private hospitals,
electric companies, water districts, civil rescue groups, the Boy Scouts and Girl
Scouts of the Philippines and other affiliated civic sector groups and public safety
volunteers.

(4) The establishment of the Hotline "911" call center shall anchor on the mandatory
participation of the existing private communication carriers operating in the
locality.

(©) In areas where an emergency telephone number does not yet exist, the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) shall immediately direct the concerned
telephone companies to designate "911" as the nationwide emergency telephone
number within a reasonable period of time. Any emergency telephone hotline
established by any local government or state agency using a number other than
"911" shall be changed to "911"

(g) All existing agreements in connection with the effective operation of Hotline
"911" with the private sector and the NGO's prior to the enactment of this law
shall continue to be enforced.

SEC. 3. Institutionalization of National Emergency Hotline "911" Community-
based Volunteer Network. - A Hotline "911" community-based volunteer network is hereby
institutionalized constituting the Volunteer Service Responders Network

a) There shall be a Hotline "911" barangay-based Volunteer Service Responders

Network to be organized from various components such as the studentry, the Boy

Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines, the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and the

out-of-school youth;

1)

‘There shall be organized a group to Advocate, Train, Organize, Mobilize and Monitor
(ATOMM) field level implementers of Hotline "911", headed by the Chief of Police
of the city/municipality as team leader with the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) C/M LGOO as co-team leader and members from various
government organizations and NGOs, such as respective representatives from the
office of the mayor, the municipal/liga president, the municipality SK chairman, the
Department of Education (DepEd), the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines
coordinators, the BFP, the BJMP and other affiliated public safety volunteers and civil
sector groups.

SEC. 4. The Hotline "911" Commission. - The present PATROL "117"
Commission, as per Presidential Administrative Order No. 36 dated May 3, 2002, in
conjunction with Presidential Administrative Order No. 124 dated June 2, 2003, shall
continue to exist as the Hotline "911" Commission.

The Commission shall be headed by the Secretary of the Interior and Local
Government and the Chairman of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), as
chairman, and the Chairman of the Foundation for Crime Prevention, as co-chairman.


7

Its members are
a) From the government sector:
‘The Philippine National Police (PNP);
The Department of Education (DepEd),
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED),
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC); and
‘The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA); and

wens

b) From the private sector:
The leading telephone carrier;

‘The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas (KBP),

‘The Bankers Association of the Philippines;

The Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and

Four other members will be selected by the chairman from the private sector.

waene

SEC. 5. Functions of Hotline "911" Commission. —
(a) Prepare and recommend, for the approval of the President, policies on crime
prevention and public safety operations of stakeholders and volunteers

(b) Prepare and recommend thrusts, proposals and measures that would effectively
respond to the national security and development interests,

(c) Perform such other duties and functions as the President may direct.

SEC. 6. The Hotline "911" Development Office. - The existing DILG Hotline "117"
Development Group, activated by the DILG under the PATROL "17" Commission, is
hereby institutionalized as the Hotline "911" Development Office to implement the Hotline
"911" Program which shall consist of existing uniformed personnel of the interior sector and
the non-uniformed plantilla personnel of the PATROL "117" Commission. It shall serve as
the secretariat of the Hotline "911" Commission. Furthermore:

a) The Streetwatch plantilla and the [ACCAG plantilla of the DILG shall be transferred
to the Hotline "911" Development Office to constitute the Hotline "911" plantilla,
subject to revision;

b) The said office shall be staffed with personnel, subject to existing civil service rules
and regulations;

°)

The said office shall be headed by a director with an equivalent plantilla position of
Director IV, to be appointed by the President, upon the recommendation by the
Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, subject to civil service rules and
regulations; and

d)

The said office shall have parallel organization in the regional level, to be headed by a
regional officer, and in the field level to monitor provincial, city, municipal and
barangay operations


SEC. 7. Functions of the Hotline "911" Development Office. —
(a) Plan and implement the Hotline "911" Program as a nationwide network

(b) Institutionalize the ATOMM Team Network in every city and
municipality

(c) Institutionalize the barangay-based Volunteer Service Responders
Network.

(d) Conduct readiness test, monitor and evaluate the response capability of all
systems in Hotline "911" operations.

(e) Undertake such other duties as the Commission may direct.

SEC. 8. Involvement of Other Agencies of the Government. - All government
agencies are stakeholders in the promotion of peace and order and public safety

Hence, they shall provide the necessary support in the advocacy for and the
implementation of this program with the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government as
the lead coordinator.

SEC. 9. Participation by the Private Sector. - The private sector and the NGOs are
enjoined to actively participate in whatever capacity in advocating crime prevention and
public safety by supporting Hotline "911"

SEC. 10. Penalties for Megitimate "911" Calls. - (a) Definition of an Illegitimate
Caller - Whoever accesses Hotline "911" for the purpose of making a prank call, false alarm,
deceitful complaint or giving untrue information which could result in the emergency
response of any public safety agency or cause delay in answering legitimate calls is an
illegitimate caller and shall therefore be punished as follows:

1. For the first offense, a fine of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) shall be imposed;

2. For the second offense by the same offender, a fine of Ten thousand pesos
(P10,000.00) shall be imposed;

3. For the third offense by the same offender, a fine of Twenty thousand pesos
(P20,000.00) and imprisonment for a period of fifteen (15) to thirty (30) days, at
the discretion of the court, shall be imposed; and

4. For succeeding offenses committed by the same offender, a fine of Fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000.00) and imprisonment for a period of one month and
one day to six months, at the discretion of the court, shall be imposed.

(b) A call made to Hotline "911" constitutes an authorization or consent by the caller for
his/her distress call to be automatically recorded. In case the call turns out to be
illegitimate, the recording shall be used as evidence against the offender and the


provisions of Republic Act No. 4200, otherwise known as the "Anti -Wiretapping Act",
cannot be invoked by the offender.

(c) A telecommunications company can be compelled, through a subpoena duces tecum
issued by a duly authorized government agency, to disclose the name and address of the
owner/subscriber of the telephone line from where an illegitimate call was established to
have originated

SEC. 12. Funding. - The funding requirements needed to sustain the
institutionalization of Hotline "911" shall be derived from:
a) The regular appropriations of the DILG;

b) The imposition of a reasonable call fee to callers for the value-added service of
Hotline "911" based on the generally accepted practice in other countries. Funds
derived from this source shall strictly be used for the modernization and upgrading
of the program. The amount and mechanics of the collection and use of the
‘emergency call fee shall be contained in the implementing rules and regulations of
this Act; and

c) The proceeds from the different fines imposed and collected in the enforcement
of this Act.

SEC. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Secretary of the Interior and
Local Government shall formulate and issue the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRRs)
necessary for the efficient and effective implementation of the provisions of this Act within
one (1) month from its effectivity. Said IRR shall be reviewed every year thereafter and
revised upon the recommendation by the Hotline "911" Commission for the purpose of
updating its efficiency and effectiveness.

SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, and
rules and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly,

SEC. 14. Separability Clause. - Should any provision of this Act be found
unconstitutional by a court of law, such provision shall be severed from the remainder of this
Act, and such action shall not affect the enforceability of the remaining provisions of this
Act.

SEC. 15. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,