From left: ICTO head Edwin David, Pasay City Leadership Head Theresa I. Dimayuga, Vice Mayor Waldetrudes Del Rosario, Pasay City Rep. Antonino ‘Tony’ Calixto. At the middle is Pasay City Mayor Imelda ‘Emi’ Calixto Rubiano, VP & head, Enterprise Revenue Business Group PLDT Enterprise Ruby Montoya, First VP and Head Enterprise Core Business PLDT Enterprise Mitch Locsin, and other executives of PLDT Chet Alviz and Anthony Fernandez. Photographs COURTESY OF PASAY PIO
By Richbon Quevedo and Alvin Murcia @tribunephl_alvi
In line with improving its services to the public, the local government of Pasay City has forged an agreement with PLDT enterprise for the launching of the 888-PASAY hotline to replace the existing lines of communication.
The hotline — dialed as 888-72729 — seeks to provide Pasayeños with a more responsive communication channel ensuring an efficient delivery of service of the city with more direct access to residents.
New features of the 888-PASAY Single Trunkline include the single point of access for all city government services, faster response times resulting in improved call routing and dedicated customer service representatives with reduced wait times.
It will be using a Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX) system which is used to automatically connect external and internal callers to an internal network through a switchboard without a manual operation.
The new hotline system is available during office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and manned by members of the Pasay City Public Information Office and maintained by the city’s Information and Communications Technology Office.
Currently, three members of the PIO operate the hotline system but the city government assured it will be training more operators.
Previously, hotline numbers set up by the city were difficult to remember for some residents resulting in confusion and misdialed calls.
Mayor Imelda “Emi” Calixto-Rubiano said it has always been her plan to have a dedicated hotline for Pasay residents.
“Actually, when I assumed as mayor in the first term, I really wanted it, I wanted to make it better, but now when we got serious, less than three months later, it continued,” Calixto-Rubiano told DAILY TRIBUNE.
The mayor added that the new hotline was developed in less than three months which finally came to fruition in March 2024.
The city will cut the old hotline numbers by the end of July.
Meantime, PLDT Enterprise first vice president and head of Enterprise Core Business Mitch Locsin affirmed their support in the efforts of Pasay City in its digital transformation.
“This project which is our contract signing and official launch of the 888-PASAY is a very big step moving towards digital transformation; communication is really key, internal communication between the agencies within the local government units, communication with our constituents, the people of Pasay City and so with that we could deliver better public service,” Locsin said.
The local government, on the other hand, is also in talks with PLDT to upgrade and expand communication infrastructures in the city.
“I really invited PLDT to be our partner at the city hall before, and the infrastructure projects that we are thinking about to make communication even better and other things that we can give to our countrymen are being discussed with PLDT,” Calixto-Rubiano said.
