I have always felt secure and safe in Davao City. People are generally friendly, and the crime rate is relatively low. What enforces my feeling of security more is the presence of Central 911, Davao City’s version of the famous US emergency response team.
Central 911 was conceived as far back as 1997, when Davao Light & Power Company (DLPC) and the city government set up a comprehensive lighting project throughout the streets of Davao. DLPC used a system that can accurately determine the location of each of their electrical posts. Together, the two institutions discussed and planned on using this system to track the location of incoming callers for faster emergency response.
By September 27, 2002, the Central Communications and Emergency Response Center — or Central 911 — was conceived. The center is the only one of its kind in Asia, with only a handful of similar systems all over the world, including Canada and the United States.
Recently, Central 911 was lauded for its effective disaster preparedness and response to the floods in Calinan last 2008.
The center is in the process of upgrading its systems through the help of SMART Communications and the Ateneo de Davao University. These improvements involve better monitoring of weather patterns, water movements, and land tracking.
Davao’s Central 911 is something the national government should adopt.
I agree. proud to be a davaoeño!
@lyle:
haha, that would be the day!!! with every local government unit, especially the mayor coming up with their own version of special ambulance or rescue kuno, & plastering their faces on the side of this so called ambulances trying to allude that these came from their own pocket & it was their idea & their special project & that their constituents are lucky because if it wasn’t for them, they wouldn’t have these ambulances…
i mean think about it, this endeavor is a lot of work, (i know, i’m an engineer & had visited & oriented with davao light & central 911) you have to map the city & have to be accurate to the meter, you have to have good coordination with the police & monitor & track their movements every 15 minutes or so (they radio back & they are coordinated as to where they should go so there won’t be 2 patrol cars in the same area or something like that). the ambulance have to have special & sophisticated medical equipment, not just a van & a stretcher, same goes to the fire team, canine team & urban search & rescue team.
i mean if i were a corrupt official, i wouldn’t bother with such work load, i’ll just but a van, a stretcher that would fit in, & plaster my face on the side of it, inflate the cost & pocket the excess budget. also i don’t think the police would want to be bothered every quarter of an hour or so, i mean they’re busy collecting their ‘tong’…