Albay to test run 911 for faster emergency response

By Sally A. Altea

Albay Gov. Noel E. Rosal signed on Monday, July 18 the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the test run of Next Generation Advanced (NGA) 911 in the province.

"No commitment or agreement yet for the province. This ceremony is a signing of understanding. We will first test the software of NGA 911 in Legazpi in the next few days, and from there, we will see if it really works seamlessly for the Albayanos," Rosal said.

Rosal appointed Dr. Cedric Daep, head of the Albay Provincial Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO), to carefully assess and evaluate the operations of the NGA 911.

He said that if the test run of NGA 911 proves to be efficient, the next move will be the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which will include the participation of city and municipal mayors in the province in setting up command centers in their areas.

According to the NGA 911 team, the equipment to be used will come from the United States to ensure the efficiency of the software.

The team will occupy an office in the APSEMO building, and will not incur cost from the province.

Rosal expressed optimism in the outcome of the NGA 911 program in the province.

NGA 911 aims to make it easier for the Albayanos to call for help and to accelerate response in times of disasters and other health-related emergencies. (PIA5/Albay/Albay PIO)