Manila, July 17 -- Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla urged all local chief executives to enact ordinances penalizing prank callers to the national emergency hotline, as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) prepares to roll out the upgraded Emergency 911 system in August.

Reports from the E911 National Office showed that in 2024, nearly 12 million calls were handled by the system, about 60 percent of which were identified as fraudulent, hoax, or prank calls.

"Dapat may ordinance ang lahat ng LGUs na may (All LGUs should have an ordinance that has) monetary fine, jail time basta (if it is a) prank call," Remulla said, emphasizing that prank callers should face real consequences.

He noted that detailed guidelines wou...