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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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Second Regular Session 
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nEc Ifi i’j 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
According to Article XI11 Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution: 
“The State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach 
to health development which shall endeavor to make essential 
goods, health and other social services available to all the people at 
affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the under- 
privileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children. The State 
shall endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers.” 
Part of the essential health and social services that the government implemented are 
hotlines such as Patrol 117 of the Department of Interior and Local Government. Their website 
defines an emergency call as a call that refers to an incident or a situation where a person’s life or 
property is in danger or threatened. However, the nature of the calls that this hotline is receiving 
is far from that definition. DILG Baguio reported that 98.41 percent of the calls they received 
were prank calls made mostly by children requesting for food delivery. Other cities, such as 
Cagayan de Orb, filed ordinances to curb the increase of prank calls which results in the clogging 
of telephone lines, thereby depriving legitimate callers access to the hotline number. It is time 
that a national law be passed to address this abuse of an essential service. 
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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
Second Regular Session 
) 
.Tr 
4 :i p i :*.Il? 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO SUPPORT AND REGULATE THE USE OF EMERGENCY TELEPHONE CALLS AND 
COMMUNICATIONS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Definition. 
a,) “Emergency Call” shall include: 
i) 
ii) any call for assistance from a police or fire department or for other assistance 
needed in an emergency to avoid serious harm to person or property. 
any call for emergency medical or ambulance service; 
b.) “Call” includes the use of any of the following methods of communication: 
telephones, facsimiles, voice-over-internet protocols, e-mail messages, text messages 
and electronic transmissions of an image or video. 
SECTION 2. First Level Offenses. The following acts shall be punished with 
imprisonment of 3 months and a fine of P10,000.00: 
a,) Refusing to immediately relinquish a telephone when informed that the line is needed 
to make an emergency call; 
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an emergency; 
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emergency exists; 
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b.) Secures a relinquishment of a telephone by falsely stating that the line is needed €or 
c,) Makes a call for emergency medical or ambulance service, knowing that no medical 
d.) Makes or initiates an emergency call, knowing that no emergency exists, and with the 
intent to disrupt, interfere with, or reduce the provision of emergency services or the 


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emergency call center’s resources, remains silent, or makes abusive or harassing 
statements to the call center recipient. 
SECTION 3. Second Level Offerzses. The following acts shall be punished with 6 months 
imprisonment and a fine of P20,OOO.OO: 
a,) Intentionally interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or interferes with an emergency call or who 
intentionally prevents or hinders another from placing an emergency call. 
b.) Places an emergency call and reports a fictitious emergency with the intent of 
prompting an emergency response by law enforcement, fire, or emergency medical 
services personnel 
c) Violates section 2 of this Act after having been previously convicted or adjudicated 
delinquent for violating that clause. 
SECTION 4. Aggravating Circumstance under this Act. Whoever violates Section 3 
paragraph b of this Act shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 10 years and a fine of 
PSOO, 000.00 if the call triggers an emergency response and, as a result of the response, someone 
suffers great bodily h a m  or death. 
SECTION 5. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, mles and regulations or parts 
thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified 
accordingly. 
SECTION 6. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any provision of this Act is 
declared to be unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof which are not 
affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and e€fect. 
SECTION 7. Efectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days 
€allowing its publication in the Of$cial Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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