When Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla recently announced that the national 911 emergency response system will be “fully operational by July 2025”—including in cities like Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao—it seemed like a routine update on a government program. But scratch beneath the surface, and his statement carries a troubling implication: it rewrites history, marginalizes local initiative, and feeds into a creeping trend of downplaying the legacy of the Dutertes and the pioneering city of Davao.
Let’s be clear: Davao City’s Central 911 has been fully operational since 2002. That’s twenty-three years of experience, excellence, and innovation. Davao 911 was the first of its kind in the Philippines and remains one of the most sophisticated emergency systems in the country today. It did not wait for the national government to come knocking. It didn’t need permission or funding from “Imperial Manila” to protect its people. It acted.
So when Secretary Remulla includes Davao in his list of cities that are “about to become operational,” one has to ask—is this ignorance, incompetence, or intentional erasure?
A City That Led When the Nation Lagged
Long before the idea of a national 911 system even entered the radar of Malacañang bureaucrats, Davao had already implemented a U.S.-style emergency response mechanism. It integrated real-time dispatch systems, consolidated police, fire, and medical responders under one roof, and invested in infrastructure that enabled emergency teams to be deployed within minutes of a call. Davao Central 911 has its own fleet, its own dispatchers, and its own paramedics—not subcontracted, not theoretical.
In contrast, the national rollout of the 911 system has been delayed, inconsistent, and plagued by questions of capacity and coordination. It’s a welcome development, yes, but it is not new, and certainly not groundbreaking when viewed from Davao’s perspective.
So why is Remulla making it sound as though Davao is only now catching up?
The Politics of Erasure
Let’s not pretend we live in a vacuum. Davao City is not just any city—it’s the political stronghold of the Duterte family. From former President Rodrigo Duterte to Vice President Sara Duterte and former Mayor now Congressman Paolo Duterte, the city’s achievements are often painted with a political brush.
By positioning Davao as part of the new rollout—as if it were a mere beneficiary rather than a national model—Remulla’s statement subtly but powerfully diminishes Davao’s role as a pioneer. It implies that whatever infrastructure exists there is subordinate to what the national government is only now “deploying.” Whether this was a calculated jab or careless framing, the damage is the same: it reinforces the narrative that nothing good truly begins outside Manila—until Manila says so.
This is not just disrespectful. It is dishonest.
Imperial Mindset, Again
Filipinos from the regions have long resented the imperial Manila mindset—the assumption that development, governance, and innovation must flow from the capital outward. Davao’s 911 is a shining example of the opposite: progress that begins at the periphery and forces the center to catch up.
By omitting this history, the DILG undermines the efforts of local governments who don’t wait for national hand-holding to get things done. It demoralizes local innovation and reinforces dependency. Worse, it subtly shifts credit from those who built the system to those who are now merely expanding it.
This is not the first time regional achievements have been rebranded as national success stories after the fact. But it stings especially hard in the case of Davao 911, which has long been a beacon of what decentralized governance can achieve when it is backed by political will and community trust.
Full Operation? Start With Full Honesty
No one is against improving the national emergency response infrastructure. On the contrary, Filipinos deserve better. But improvements must come with clarity, humility, and historical accuracy.
Remulla should have said: “By July 2025, the national government aims to catch up with cities like Davao, which has had a fully functioning 911 system since 2002. Our goal is to ensure that the same level of service is accessible across the nation.”
Instead, he put Davao on the same starting line as Metro Manila—a city that has struggled with basic emergency response coordination for decades.
This Isn’t Just Semantics
Words matter. Narratives matter. If the DILG cannot acknowledge the full history of emergency response development in the Philippines, what else is it willing to reframe, revise, or erase?
When we rewrite or ignore regional achievements, we reinforce the very dysfunctions that decentralization was meant to fix. We must give credit where it’s due. And in the case of 911 emergency response, that credit goes first and foremost to Davao City and the leaders who made it happen—not to national bureaucrats who are two decades late to the game.
Final Word
The Duterte name may polarize. But Davao Central 911 is not a partisan achievement—it is a Filipino achievement, forged in the regions, ahead of its time. Any national rollout of 911 should build on it, not bury it.
Secretary Remulla, the country deserves a better emergency system. But it also deserves an honest accounting of where excellence began—and who led the way.