Trece Martires mayor explains absence at city hall during PNP's '5-minute response' demonstration
The Philippine National Police on Aug. 12 demonstrated its five-minute emergency response scheme, but upon choosing the city hall of Trece Martires in Cavite as a response site, its mayor Gemma Lubigan was nowhere to be found. She, however, has an explanation.
A livestream from the state-run Radio Television Malacañang showed Police Chief Nicolas Torre making a 911 call from the PNP Command Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Torre was making a demonstration in front of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who paid them a visit in celebration of the 124th police anniversary service.
Torre requested to dispatch one unit with a body camera to the Trece Martires city hall, a location chosen by interior secretary Jonvic Remulla, who was with Marcos. (Cavite is Remulla's hometown and bailiwick, previously serving as its governor.)
A timer began after the call as Torre, Marcos, and Remulla waited for the unit to arrive. It reached the city hall in one minute and 13 seconds.
Torre asked the unit to let Lubigan know that Marcos and Remulla wanted to speak with her, but she wasn't in her office. A jovial Torre then instructed the unit to go to Lubigan's residence. The timer restarted. Cheers erupted when the unit arrived at Lubigan's home just two minutes and 41 seconds later.
A video feed showed the unit trying to call Lubigan while they're on her porch, but the cop claimed that the mayor didn't want to show herself.
"Si Mayor lang ang mabagal," the top cop said in jest. "Ayaw magpakita."
Still working despite absence?
In a phone interview with TV Patrol, Lubigan explained that she's working even if she's not physically present in the city hall.
"Kasi po meron din naman po akong pwedeng i-entertain dito sa bahay na mga bisita before po ako mag-report po sa office," she said.
"Bale po everyday naman po, depende po sa nagiging schedule nagre-report po ako sa office. It's just that hindi lang po kami na-inform kasi para po nagra-random," she added.
Lubigan also argued that elected officials like her tend to lose time as they work beyond office hours.
In a separate statement on Aug. 13, Lubigan said she was "meeting with constituents and stakeholders on official matters" during the call.
"This is part of the work I do every day as City Mayor," she said. "The nature of my role is not confined to an office desk or an 8-to-5 schedule. The work of a City Mayor is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—in City Hall, in the barangays, in evacuation centers, on the streets, or even at home when duty calls."
"Public service does not stop when I step out of the building; it goes wherever the people need me," she added.
Lubigan said she "fully" supports PNP's drill.
"The real story here should be about strengthening our police force’s readiness and improving emergency response times for the safety of every Filipino. That is the heart of the exercise," she said. "This was not—and should not be—about singling out one individual as the 'subject' of the test. The focus must remain on ensuring that when our people need help, our police can respond quickly and effectively."
She asked the public for "fairness and a wider lens" following the incident.
"[J]udge public servants not on a single snapshot, but on the totality of their service," Lubigan said. "I welcome healthy criticism because it comes with the territory of leadership—but let us keep the conversation anchored on facts and the bigger goal: building systems that protect and serve our people better."
She also reminded constituents about her "record," enumerating her efforts, especially during calamities.
"This incident was a rare and isolated moment that does not, in any way, define my work ethic or my service to you," she added.
PNP call statistics
According to Torre, the revitalized PNP Emergency 911 Command Center has received over 17.5 million calls from Aug. 8, 2024, to June 15, 2025. Of that number, they have successfully handled or processed at least 10.5 million calls.
Under the agency's five-minute response policy, they have responded to at least 2,800 of over 3,000 calls from June 2 to Aug. 10.
Torre also noted that crime incidents nationwide have decreased. From August to June 2024, a total of 192,677 incidents were recorded, vis-à-vis 177,735 incidents during the same period from August 2024 to June 2025.
Last July, Remulla announced the partial roll-out of the unified 911 emergency call system in the Ilocos Region, Metro Manila, Central Visayas, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as well as provinces in the Greater Manila Area like Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
The secretary noted that the unified 911 system will include geolocation tools, live-streaming capabilities, as well as integration of police, fire, and medical services.
In 2018, then-president Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order making 911 the nationwide emergency number, replacing Patrol 117. It became operational in 2020.
Under the DILG's supervision, local governments were tasked to establish and run local 911 centers within their area of jurisdiction using their own funds.
Last August 2024, the DILG partnered with the private tech firm, Next Generation Advanced 911, to "revitalize" the country's emergency call system.