The Bacolod deployment gives the national emergency modernization program its first proof point outside the command center.
The Bottom Line
- Bacolod City is the first LGU to go live on the upgraded Unified 911 Philippines platform, with PLDT Enterprise deploying a Genesys cloud contact center covering call handling, dispatch, GPS tracking, and video streaming across 30 government sites.
- The deployment sits within a broader national program launched in September 2025 by DILG, BFP, and PLDT, which was reported at roughly 60 percent completion as of April 2026, with nationwide rollout originally targeted by end of April.
- Bacolod’s selection as pilot is consistent with its active infrastructure investment posture, including a PHP 2.1 billion, 10-year Super City PPP signed in March 2025 covering command center buildout and e-governance platforms.
- The fragmentation problem this system addresses is not trivial: before the Unified 911 program, the DILG counted at least 35 LGUs with separate hotline numbers, the PNP, the BFP with around 200 numbers, and 40,000 barangays operating without a single contact point.
- For cities watching Bacolod, the model is a public-private structure where the LGU provides the mandate and the telco brings the technical layer, without requiring the LGU to build from scratch.
The Philippines has had a 911 number for years. What it did not have, until September 2025, was a system behind that number capable of coordinating police, fire, medical, and rescue services in real time across jurisdictions. The DILG, BFP, PLDT Enterprise, ePLDT, NGA 911 Philippines, and NGCS Inc. launched the Unified 911 system at PLDT’s Sampaloc office in Manila, with the intent of replacing fragmented emergency channels with a single, centralized platform. The problem it was solving was significant: the DILG counted 35 local government units with their own hotline numbers, the PNP with separate lines, the BFP operating roughly 200 numbers, and 40,000 barangays with no unified contact point at all.
Eight months after that launch, Bacolod City became the first LGU to go live on the upgraded version of that platform.
What the Bacolod Deployment Actually Covers
The City Government of Bacolod formally partnered with PLDT Enterprise to deploy the Unified 911 system, with the city serving as the pilot site for the enhanced nationwide platform powered by the Genesys cloud-based system. The technical scope is specific: the deployment includes a cloud-based Genesys contact center platform for command and dispatch operations, GPS tracking, video streaming, integrated incident reporting capabilities, and iGate Premium and FiberBiz connectivity across 30 sites to ensure reliable network infrastructure supporting emergency operations.
The 30 sites figure refers to government facilities within Bacolod supporting emergency operations, not a broader provincial network. That distinction matters if other LGUs are evaluating the model for replication, since the footprint is city-scoped, not regional.
Hazel Amoyan, Customer Relationship Management Head for Visayas at PLDT Enterprise, framed the partnership around LGU enablement: “Through this partnership, we seek to empower and equip local government units with reliable and secure digital infrastructure, in order to protect, serve, and help save lives.”
Why Bacolod
Bacolod is not a neutral test site. The city has been building its technology infrastructure stack for several years and carries institutional appetite for this kind of integration. In March 2025, the Bacolod City Government signed a Build-Transfer-Maintain agreement with High Data Infra Inc. for the PHP 2.1 billion Bacolod Super City Project, a 10-year public-private partnership covering command center infrastructure, e-governance platforms, intelligent street lamp poles with surveillance analytics, and a geographic information system. The Unified 911 deployment slots into that existing architecture rather than requiring the city to start from zero.
Mayor Greg Gasataya acknowledged the prior relationship with PLDT Enterprise, noting the telco had already supported the city’s emergency communications and fiber infrastructure before the Unified 911 rollout. The city will now serve as the testing ground for the upgraded platform before wider implementation.
Where the National Rollout Stands
The Bacolod deployment is one piece of a national program that is still in progress. As of April 2026, the Unified 911 Emergency Response System was reported at nearly 60 percent completion, with NGA 911 Philippines noting that training programs for responders, dispatchers, and system administrators were ongoing. Full nationwide rollout had been targeted by the end of April. As of this writing, no official completion announcement has been made.
Milestones already reached include the delivery of 15,000 push-to-talk over cellular handheld devices and 77 dispatch consoles to the BFP National Headquarters in November and December 2025. An additional 5,000 PoC licenses are slated for the PNP for inter-agency coordination.
The Bacolod deployment, distinct from the national command center and BFP rollout, represents the LGU integration layer of the program. It is the model through which individual cities connect their local emergency operations to the national platform. Whether that model gets replicated quickly across other LGUs depends on factors the Bacolod pilot is now meant to surface: technical performance under real conditions, coordination between local DRRMO offices and the centralized dispatch system, and the stability of the connectivity layer during high-demand scenarios.
Bacolod’s DRRMO Head Dr. Anna Marie Pornan and City MIS head Edrian Robete were both present at the partnership formalization, which signals the deployment is anchored in operations rather than positioned purely as a procurement announcement.
For more on PLDT Enterprise’s solutions, visit https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-bacolod-city-unified-911-pr.
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