Having been considered as one of the cities with the best disaster and emergency response team nationwide, Quezon City is continuously improving its capabilities through well-established response clusters, one of which is the creation of QC 122.

QC 122 is the first three-digit emergency hotline by a local government unit in Metro Manila. The hotline was made possible by the Radio Communications Service under the Office of the City Mayor through City Ordinance SP 2029-2010.

The city ordinance mandates the establishment of an Emergency and Information Help Line to be known as “QC 122” under the Radio Communications Service, its functions include the following:

a. Manage and supervises coordinated rescue, relief, emergency dispatch operations to other units or agencies during disasters, typhoons, fire and calamities, whether man-made or natural.

b. Serve as the communication command center during disasters, typhoons, fires and calamities. Maintain an efficient and consistent communication system to receive emergency calls and responses and relaying messages to units involved in relief and rescue operations.

c. Serve as a single contact hotline number that can be easily accessed by our constituency who are in need of emergency assistance and other concerns that need immediate attention and quick access to public information as a matter of right on basic services, transactions and dealings with the city government and receive direct reports from constituents needs and other concerns and bridge them to other agencies/ offices concerned.

New ticketing system

As part of the city’s crime reduction and disaster response efforts and in line with her 14-point agenda, Mayor Joy Belmonte promised to strengthen the city’s emergency hotline capabilities.

The Radio Communications proposed a new ticketing system that will help in tracking each call through the 122 hotline. Each call will be recorded and will have a new ticket issued automatically once an agent takes the call. The agent will input the caller’s information in a database and identify if the concern needs an emergency response or public assistance.

The ticket will be endorsed to concerned department or office and will be monitored until it closes. 

“Quezon City’s Dial 122 is like the nationwide hotlines 911 and 8888 rolled into one,” Carlos Verzonilla, head of RCS said. RCS also plans to add more agents and responders that will have access to the database while working on the field to adapt to the new normal. They will just need to keep their lines open and have access to the internet.