DepEd sets nationwide school safety drill for campus threats on August 25
MANILA, Philippines — Schools across the country are set to hold a simultaneous safety drill next week that will have teachers, students and staff simulate what to do in the event of an "active attack" on campus.
In a memorandum, the Department of Education ordered schools to hold the safety drill at 9 a.m. next Tuesday, with the drill based on each school's contingency plan for active attack incidents.
The order was signed on August 12, six days before the department was shocked by a second fatal school shooting in Zamboanga City, just roughly two months since a similar gun attack in Tacloban City's San Jose National High School.
The department said it issued the directive "in response to the increasing occurrence of active shooting and other attack incidents affecting schools and communities worldwide."
DepEd has ordered each of its regional offices to designate one school as the ceremonial venue for their safety drill.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara is set to join the activity at Carlos F. Gonzales High School in Maguinao, San Rafael, Bulacan.
All other schools are "strongly encouraged" to conduct their own drill, whether on August 25 or on an adjusted schedule, the memo read. Schools that cannot hold it on the prescribed date must immediately notify their division DRRM coordinator, while schools that already conducted the drill are no longer required to repeat it.
In the order, DepEd ordered schools to develop, review or update their School Contingency Plan for Active Attack Incidents and give copies to their local government unit, the Philippine National Police and their Parent-Teacher Association.
Schools were also told to sort out the equipment and facilities needed for the safety drill, such as double-locking mechanisms or other classroom security measures, posted information materials, designated safe rooms, evacuation routes, emergency communication procedures, and a designated family reunification area.
Each school must invite at least one outside expert to observe and evaluate the drill from the local government unit, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, or another emergency response agency. Schools must likewise activate their School Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Team.
The memorandum warns that the drill must not cause harm and ensure the simulation is age-appropriate and trauma-informed.
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