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| NGA 911 CEO_Co-Founder Don Ferguson & NGA 911 CFO _ NGA 911 PH President Ishka Villacisneros |
Now that the Philippines has in place a unified, nationwide 911 emergency response system, the Philippines is now the benchmark for NG911 (next generation 911) deployment in ASEAN.
Ishka Villacisneros, Chief Financial Officer of the NGA 911 LLC in the US and President of NGA 911 Philippines - known globally as the innovator of emergency calling technology and the leader in Next Generation (NG911) emergency communications worldwide - said the country has become the first country in the region to fully implement the US-grade emergency technology.
On September 11, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) launched the unified 911 system in partnership with NGA 911 together with PLDT Enterprise and ePLDT that guarantees any call for help from any part of the country will be responded to swiftly and accurately.
NGA 911 Philippines provides the next-generation advanced technology that has revolutionized the speed and accuracy by which calls for help can be reported and responded to, while PLDT Enterprise and ePLDT, Inc. provides the network and infrastructure that link national agencies with local government units (LGUs) for faster, more coordinated response.
On its first day of operations, the DILG reported that the newly launched system already showed 94.42% efficiency. The call center located at the PLDT Sampaloc office has consistently handled around 61,000 calls per day and has been able to identify and weed out test, abandoned or prank calls.
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| NGA 911 CFO _ NGA 911 Philippines President Ishka Villacisneros-Tusjakova |
Ms. Villacisneros says the new technology will allow Filipinos to rely on a safer, more connected and more accountable emergency response system. She cited the key benefits of the system as “a single 911 hotline for police, fire, medical, and disaster response; real-time communication via text, social media, bodycam and drone video; precise caller location, even without signal – because the technology is serviced by Starlink; faster response times—from 1.5 hours down to around 5 minutes; and more transparency and data for better local decision-making”.
“Whether you’re in the city, municipality or a remote barangay, this system ensures that when you need help, you’re not alone, someone will pick up your call and get help to you.”
NGA 911 is currently focused on rolling out Next Generation 911 across all LGUs, ensuring operational excellence, responder training, and public awareness,” Ms. Villacisneros said. Down the line, more upgrades like AI-powered alerts, predictive analytics and multimedia integration for smarter, faster response are to be expected.
“Regionally, we’ve begun conversations with Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Qatar, Maldives, and more who are eager to adopt the technology after seeing the Philippines lead the way. The success here has positioned us to export not just the system—but the roadmap and strategy for implementation throughout Southeast Asia.
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| Unified 911 command center. |
Other ASEAN countries are now reaching out to NGA 911, hoping to follow the Philippine model. “It’s an incredible moment. The Philippines is no longer just adopting tech—we’re exporting solutions,” Ishka says proudly.
Ms Villacisneros began the journey to bring Next Generation 911 (NG911) to the Philippines in 2019 “not just as a business move, but as a mission to save lives”.
“Back then, emergency response in the country was fragmented and inefficient: over 30 local emergency hotlines, 200 fire numbers, 700 police lines, and more than 40,000 barangay numbers. Help was not only delayed—it often didn’t come at all.
“In the last four years, I navigated a volatile landscape—working through administration changes, pandemic lockdowns, natural disasters, all while pushing the initiative forward. Despite these challenges, I successfully secured millions of dollars in U.S. investment from NGA 911 LLC, and built high-level partnerships with PLDT, Google, AWS and Starlink to support nationwide deployment.”
“We’ve shown that with determination, partnerships, and people-first leadership, even a developing country can leap into the future. Now, the Philippines is not just catching up—we’re leading,” Ms. Villacisneros said.
Her vision? For the Philippines to become the ASEAN regional hub for life-saving public safety tech.
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