The Emergency Medical Service of Cebu City addressed the need of city residents and neighboring towns for professionalized response to medical and rescue emergencies. It provided free emergency medical treatment and transport of patients to various hospitals in the city. It also functioned as a training arm of Cebu City in first aid and basic life support, disaster preparedness and response, and safety promotion activities. It organized disaster brigades in all the barangays. The Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF), a partner NGO of the city of Cebu, runs this program.

It consists of fully trained paramedics, doctors and other health practitioners with state of the art life-saving apparatus and fully equipped ambulances and trauma vans.

For the past four years, program volunteers had provided free-hospital transport and rescue services to more than 5,000 patients resulting in reduced mortality rate, early period of recovery, and shortened period of hospital confinement.

This program is recognized as a Trailblazing Program, a finalist for the 1995 Galing Pook Awards.