Stay Safe Daily Emergency numbers

Philippine emergency hotline numbers

National Emergency Hotline

911

One number, twenty-four hours, anywhere in the country. It reaches police, fire and medical response. The rest of this page is every other number on the government's own directory, checked against each agency.

By Hamza Rivera, updated

Short answer: The emergency number in the Philippines is 911, which reaches police, fire and medical response. The page also gives the Philippine Red Cross line, 143, and numbers for disaster and weather, roads, water, and abuse and mental health services, each copied from the government directory with the date it was read.

Source: DILG, One Number for All Emergencies: Unified 911 to Launch Nationwide (DILG Region IV-A). Read 8 October 2026.

Numbers change, and a list that does not say where it came from is a list you cannot check. Every entry below is from the Philippine government's directory. Most are also checked against the agency's own directory, and every source line gives the date it was read.

Source: PH Emergency Hotlines, the Philippine government hotline directory. Read 9 October 2026.

Checked against 5 agency directories, the latest read 9 October 2026

Source: PNP, PNP Telephone Directory, as of June 2026. Read 9 October 2026.

Source: NDRRMC, Contact Us. Read 9 October 2026.

Source: DSWD, Contact Us. Read 9 October 2026.

Source: Philippine Red Cross, Contact Us. Read 9 October 2026.

Source: DOH, via Daily Tribune, DOH mental health hotline (NCMH 1553), 3 January 2026. Read 8 October 2026.

Call first

National Emergency Hotline

The one number to remember. It reaches police, fire and medical response.

Philippine National Police (PNP)
Philippine Red Cross

The blood lines are the ones on the Red Cross contact page, read 9 October 2026.

Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)

From the PH Emergency Hotlines government directory. For a fire, call 911.

Disaster and weather

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)
PAGASA (weather)
PHIVOLCS (volcanoes and earthquakes)
Philippine Coast Guard

From the PH Emergency Hotlines government directory.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

The DSWD lists these as its general lines.

Roads and transport

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA)
Department of Transportation (DOTr)

From the PH Emergency Hotlines government directory.

LTFRB

Water

Manila Water
Maynilad

Violence, abuse and mental health

Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC)
MAKABATA Helpline (children in need of special protection) (CWC)

Run by the Council for the Welfare of Children, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (Executive Order No. 79, s. 2024). Under an agreement signed with the DILG in October 2026, reports to 911 about online sexual abuse or exploitation of children will be referred to it. If a child is in danger now, call 911.

National Center for Mental Health crisis line (NCMH)

911 in the Philippines: what people ask

Is there 911 in the Philippines?
Yes. 911 is the national emergency hotline for police, fire and medical help. Executive Order No. 56 of 2018 made it the nationwide number, and from 11 September 2025 the DILG's Unified 911 routes police, fire, medical and disaster calls through one network.
Is 117 still the emergency number?
No. 117 was the old national number. The same executive order made 911 the Nationwide Emergency Hotline Number, "replacing the number 117".
Is calling 911 free?
Yes. The order says every call to the Emergency 911 Hotline "shall be free of charge and other fees", and the DILG describes Unified 911 as free and available 24/7.
Can I speak Tagalog, Cebuano or another Philippine language?
Yes. The DILG says Unified 911 is set up so that calls in Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Waray, Tausug and other Philippine languages can be understood and acted on.
Do I need load to call 911?
No. The DILG puts it plainly: all calls to 911 are free of charge, "No load." The executive order also requires the phone networks to connect every call their subscribers make to the Emergency 911 Hotline.
Who answers a 911 call?
The National Call Center, under the direction and control of the DILG. Cities and municipalities may also run their own local 911 call centers, under its supervision.
Is a prank call to 911 a crime?
The executive order says fraudulent, hoax and prank reports "shall be dealt with in accordance with existing and applicable laws". The DILG's reason is simpler: every prank call or false report delays help for someone who needs it.
What number is for a child who needs protection?
1383, the MAKABATA Helpline. An executive order of 2024 made it the central reporting line for children in need of special protection, run by the Council for the Welfare of Children, 24 hours a day. In October 2026 the DILG and the Council signed an agreement for 911 and 1383 to refer cases to each other. If a child is in danger right now, call 911.

Source: Office of the President, Executive Order No. 56, s. 2018, sections 1 and 3 (text at Lawphil) (signed 25 May 2018). Read 13 October 2026.

Source: DILG, One Number for All Emergencies: Unified 911 to Launch Nationwide (DILG Region IV-A). Read 8 October 2026.

Source: DILG, DILG, Every second counts: 911 delivers help without cost (30 April 2026). Read 1 November 2026.

Source: Office of the President, Executive Order No. 79, s. 2024, establishing the MAKABATA Program and institutionalizing the MAKABATA Helpline 1383, section 4 (text at Lawphil) (signed 6 December 2024). Read 1 November 2026.

Source: DILG, DILG, CWC link Unified 911, MAKABATA 1383 for faster child protection response (7 October 2026). Read 1 November 2026.

Your barangay and city disaster office

Your barangay and your city or municipal disaster office are the people who will actually reach you first, and their numbers differ in every town. Find them once, write them on the card that goes in the go bag, and save them in the phone as well.

Some cities also run their own three-digit helpline alongside 911. Quezon City uses 122, for instance. If your city has one, learn it as well as 911.

Checking whether a storm or an earthquake is happening now? The page on where to check typhoon and earthquake updates links straight to PAGASA, PHIVOLCS and the NDRRMC.

Travelling for the long weekend? The Undas safety tips list where the police desks and first aid stations are, and what to check before a trip.

Put the numbers in the go bag

Source: PH Emergency Hotlines, the Philippine government hotline directory. Read 9 October 2026.

Know which one before you need it

In the moment, 911 is the right answer and nobody should be scrolling a directory. The other numbers on this page earn their place in the days either side: PAGASA and PHIVOLCS when a bulletin is unclear, the DSWD when relief has not arrived, the NCMH crisis line when the week afterwards is the hard part.

Each hazard guide on this site prints the one number that hazard needs and links back here for the rest.

A drawing of a closed white first aid box with a green cross on its front and a dark blue carrying handle, on a woven mat.