CITY OF MATI IS EMERGENCY RESPONSE HUB
2/25/2009
by Neela G. Duallo

    CITY OF MATI IS EMERGENCY RESPONSE HUB  
BY : Ms. Neela G. Duallo 
         City of Mati  
  City of Mati, Davao Oriental – All is set for the implementation of the emergency response program, Patrol 117 in the City of Mati.  
     
  This came after Mayor Michelle Rabat committed and accepted the big responsibility of being the emergency response hub in the region.  
     
  Patrol 117 is a communication system, similar to that of a call center set-up, which aims to monitor the entire situation in the City of Mati and transmits messages coming from the neighboring cities and provinces in Davao Region for expeditious response to emergency cases.  
     
  And to implement Patrol 117, all telephone lines, individual and local government connections alike, must be connected to the system.  
     
  Through Patrol 117, far flung barangays, other cities and provinces in Davao Region can relay messages through the base, and the base station connects the messenger to the concerned agency for appropriate action.  
     
  City of Mati Fire Marshall Alex Pamaybay disclosed that three agencies are tasked to be the implementors of Patrol 117.  
     
  These include the Mati Fire Bureau, Mati-PNP, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), with the Fire Bureau directed by the Mayor to take the lead in running the system, considered as the Mati version of Patrol 911 in Davao City.    
     
  Pamayabay explained that the emergency response system will be established first in the City of Mati, and once done, Patrol 117 will widen it’s coverage.  
     
  “The people designated to operate the system will undergo training, and trainors will be coming from the Dept. of Interior and Local Gov’t (DILG) Regional Office,” he said.  
     
  The system is worth 72 million pesos, and it is composed of 10 computers and telephone units.  
     
  The signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the city government of Mati and the Dept. of Interior and Local Gov’t took place on Jan. 28, 2009., upon Regional Director Rene Libonao’s visit in the city.  
     
  Elements from the Mati Fire Bureau went to Davao City to get the system, and a program launching will be set soon, with Interior Secretary Rene Puno hopefully, gracing the affair.  
     
  Mayor Michelle Rabat earlier revealed the Patrol 117 project, and expressed willingness for Mati to serve as the base station for the emergency response system.  
     
  In January this year, the lady Chief Executive reminded the DILG about the program, which was a promise from the department.  
     
   Patrol 117 will be installed at the Kasanag Drop-in Center Building, City Hall Compound, City of  Mati.