CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) in Cebu will now have added disaster response capabilities after the provincial government and Globe Telecom signed Thrusday a memorandum of agreement (MoA) for a province-wide health and disaster emergency system.

The agreement was signed during the Provincial Development Council (PDC) meeting at the Capitol Social Hall which was attended to by mayors, vice mayors, representatives of the business community and various organizations in Cebu.

Dubbed Access Cebu, the province-wide emergency system allows the public to send text messages or call emergency numbers provided by Globe Telecom when such emergencies as road accidents and other health-related events and disasters like typhoons and flash floods occur.

The hotline will be connected to respective district hospitals, thus allowing a local emergency response team to immediately get into the scene of accidents or emergencies. A separate hotline was also launched for province-owned Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (DVSMMC) in Cebu City so that people from far-flung municipalities can immediately report health-related incidents.