The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered an investigation into a delayed response to an emergency 911 call after a 71-year-old senior citizen died in Taguig City last Saturday.
Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla confirmed that the DILG Emergency 911 National Office, led by Executive Director Francis Fajardo, is handling the probe.
“Director Francis has already documented the incident for immediate investigation,” Remulla said in a message to reporters.
The inquiry stems from a social media post by Basty Askri, who detailed his attempt to seek urgent medical assistance for his father after he suffered a stroke. Askri alleged that he waited roughly 10 minutes before an operator answered, only to be told to “wait” while hearing background laughter and chit-chat. He further claimed the responding ambulance lacked critical equipment, including an automated external defibrillator, forcing him to administer CPR himself without help from medical personnel.
Remulla outlined the initial timeline of the incident based on records from Emergency 911.
“Based on the report, 911 received the call at 12:15 PM involving a 71-year-old patient in Maharlika Village, Taguig who reportedly suffered a mild stroke and needed urgent ambulance assistance,” Remulla said.
He explained that operators forwarded the call to the local authority shortly after.
“However, despite follow-ups at 4:57 p.m. and 5:56 p.m., there was still no confirmation whether the ambulance was actually dispatched or had arrived,” Remulla said.
“There also appears to have been an issue with the shift handover and endorsement of the case,” he added.
The DILG investigation aims to establish why the response was delayed and determine whether operational lapses occurred during the handling and coordination of the call.