Some things are meant to be joked at. People whose jobs involve saving lives aren't one of them.
That was the lesson learned by a 19-year-old man who allegedly faked a robbery to find his girlfriend in Santa Rosa City, Laguna last August 4.
According to a report by the Santa Rosa City police, the incident occurred at around 4:18 p.m. last August 4 when the suspect, identified as "Nathan," a resident of Barangay Don Jose, Santa Rosa City, Laguna, called the Emergency Hotline 911 to report a robbery allegedly committed in Barangay Loma, Biñan City, Laguna.
The caller claimed that the supposed victim and suspects were at the Balibago Commercial Complex, prompting authorities to rush to the area.
However, when the responding officers reached the scene, it was revealed that the alleged robbery incident never took place.
During questioning, "Nathan" admitted that he had merely used the used the 911 hotline to seek assistance in locating his girlfriend following a personal misunderstanding.
The suspect, who is now detained at the Santa Rosa City Police Station, faces charges of Unjust Vexation making a false emergency report.
Calabarzon Police Regional Office Acting Director P/BGen. Dominic Baccay said that every call received through Emergency Hotline 911 is treated as a legitimate emergency and acted upon without delay.
"Emergency Hotline 911 is a lifeline, not a hotline for pranks or fabricated reports. Every false call diverts our responders and resources from people who may be facing real emergencies. We urge the public to use the hotline responsibly because abusing this service has serious legal consequences," Baccay added.
Prank calls to the unified 911 hotline have dropped considerably in past years, although they remain a nuisance.
According to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), prank and fraudulent calls to the Unified 911 Hotline have dropped sharply from 60 percent in 2024 to just 0.17 percent in 2025.
For instance, 1,495 out of the 884,809 calls received by the Unified 911 Hotline turned out to be prank calls, while 12,223 were dropped or abandoned.
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