By M. PUNONGBAYAN
TODAY Correspondent

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) clarified that the P5.50 fee collected for every emergency call made through the police telephone hotline Patrol 117 will not be used to help the government raise revenues to help curb the fiscal deficit.

Interior Undersecretary for Peace and Order Marius Corpus said the fees collected from Patrol 117 will be used to further improve the services of the emergency hotline program.

The money will be used to increase manpower, train more personnel and improve operations and maintenance.

More than half of the funds to be generated by the scheme will go to personnel while 20 percent will go to maintenance and administrative expenses, and 10 percent for training, networking and Value Added Tax.

„Everything will go to a special account under the Foundation for Crime Prevention [FCP],“ Corpus said, hoping to correct reports that the national government and the DILG are trying to raise money for their own needs.

Some sectors agreed that there is a need to generate funds in order for the program to continue since it does not have its own budget.

However, critics accused the government and the DILG of trying to make money out of people in desperate need of police, medical and other emergency assistance services.

Corpus assured the public that this is not true since they are merely trying to improve Patrol 117 services which would need financing.

„Never in a any way whatsoever, will the government or the DILG benefit from or get a single centavo from this scheme,“ he stressed.

He said the FCP is an organization composed of private groups which include the Bankers Association of the Philippines, the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company.

„Over the years, fund outflows meant for operations have been sustained mainly through traditional fund-raising activities and dole-outs,“ Corpus noted.

Corporate sponsors and donors, he added, include the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

„With the systems upgrade, however, neither the government nor the FCP can sustain the upkeep of the system in a professional and efficient manner,“ Corpus emphasized.

The decision to charge P5.50 for Patrol 117 emergency calls was implemented to prevent pranksters jamming the emergency hotline..This has been a problem of the emergency hotline program since it was created by former Interior Secretary Joey Lina since too many calls turn out to be bad jokes.

Those who make fun of Patrol 117 will now think twice before dialing the emergency numbers since the charges will be added to their monthly phone bills.