Hundreds of officials from Negros Oriental and Siquijor, together with government agencies and civilian partners, pledged on Thursday, June 25, to support a Philippine National Police (PNP) initiative to make Negros Island Region (NIR) safe through the 911 hotline.
The commitment came during the launch of the S.A.F.E. NIR Dial 911 initiative at the Negros Oriental Convention Center, spearheaded by the Police Regional Office-NIR headed by its acting regional director, Brig. Gen. Romano Cardiño.
S.A.F.E., which stands for Seen, Appreciated, Felt, and Extraordinary, is an integrated response initiative that provides swift, localized police and emergency assistance services across Negros Island and Siquijor.
Cardiño said calling 911 for immediate police assistance has already produced positive responses in Negros Occidental, where it was first launched several weeks ago.
“It’s like a call center hub (in Manila) where operators are listening and waiting for the emergency calls, the call center operator will get the information and immediately, they will call the police station nearest to the place of the incident,” he added.
While the ideal response time from the time the call is received is five minutes, Cardiño said it is not mandatory, but the police must respond as soon as possible.
Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria pledged additional mobility assets to the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office for faster response of various police stations to address criminality and emergencies.
He said Dumaguete is touted as the “safest city” in the Philippines, and he wants the same for the province of Negros Oriental.
Sagarbarria also underscored community participation, highlighting the role of force multipliers like barangay tanods or village watchmen, as the police cannot do it alone.
Rep. Janice Degamo of the 3rd district of Negros Oriental welcomed the initiative, saying it would help deter crimes, as she recalled her and her family’s experience with the murder of her husband, the late Gov. Roel Degamo.
“Kung meron man po na nakakaintindi kung gaano ka importante ang peace and order, security and safety, ako po yun (If there is someone who understands the importance of peace and order, and security and safety, that would be me), because of what happened to my late husband three years ago,” the lawmaker said. “911 will prevent crimes from happening. It will respond to our people who will experience emergency cases and situations in the province.”
On March 4, 2023, a group of armed men barged into the Degamo residence in Pamplona town and opened fire at the governor who was distributing government assistance on a weekend.
Ten people were killed and many others wounded in the attack.
She disclosed that there are efforts now to launch a “smart district to show the 80-20 principle that says even with less, we can do more.”
Present during the launching were Gov. Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria, Vice Gov. Fritz Cezanne Diaz, Rep. Maisa Sagarbarria of the 2nd district, a representative of Gov. Jake Villa of Siquijor, mayors and councilors of Negros Oriental and Siquijor, officials and representatives of government agencies, and force multipliers such as the Guardians Brotherhood and barangay tanods, among others.
They all read aloud and signed a pledge of commitment to supporting and informing their local communities of the S.A.F.E. Dial 911 initiative.*PNA
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