Arya News - The Department of Education opts for age-appropriate and trauma-informed exercises focused on basic protective actions and coordination.
MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) will no longer be conducting “reenactments” for the nationwide simultaneous school safety drill this Thursday.
At the Kapihan sa Manila Prince Hotel on Wednesday, DepEd governance and operations Undersecretary Malcolm Garma explained that the drill had been postponed on August 25, due to inclement weather and concerns from medical groups regarding children’s emotional safety.
“Wala nang reenactment na mayroong active shooter or active attacker because, according to the experts, this might cause psychological trauma sa ating mga participant learners and including the teachers,” Garma said in an interview after the forum.
(There will no longer be reenactments involving an active shooter or active attacker because, according to experts, these may cause psychological trauma to participating learners and teachers.)
“What will trigger the drill are the alarms, yung distinct alarm na, once mag-sound yun, that will signal the commencement of the drills,” he added.
(What will trigger the drill are the alarms, the distinct alarms that, once they sound, will signal the commencement of the drills.)
The DepEd undersecretary added that the postponement of the nationwide drill also allowed the agency to include measures to strengthen post-incident response efforts and to integrate the “run-hide-fight” protocol.
The “run-hide-fight” protocol is a procedure in which individuals in an active shooter situation should first evacuate if able as a first response; or hide silently as a secondary measure; or directly confront the perpetrator as a last resort.
“There will be a reunification component,” Garma added.
“Nasa isang lugar lang isa at doon rerespondehan yung mga nasugatan at doon susunduin ng mga magulang yung kani-kanilang mga anak,” he further explained.
(Responders will have one place where all the wounded will be tended to and where all the parents will fetch their children.)
He added that another new measure in the drill would be to seek the consent of parents to allow their children to participate, citing that schools were currently in the end-of-term block for the first trimester.
“We will not be able to force them to make their children join,” he said. “But, of course, we would like to encourage our parents to make their children join.”
The nationwide drill will be kicked off at a school in Bulacan province on Thursday morning, according to Garma, noting that other schools—particularly those affected by flooding amid inclement weather—may choose to hold the drills at another time.
The drill was instituted by the DepEd in coordination with the Philippine National Police, local government units and other partner agencies in the wake of the fatal school shootings in Tacloban City last June 22 and Zamboanga City last August 18.
“This will not be the first and the last,” Garma said. “We have to perfect that drill. It’s really for muscle memory.”
“Nagpa-pay off na yung earthquake drills natin. Alam na ng mga bata yung gagawin. Duck, cover and hold. We hope that these drills to address human-induced incidents like this would also be part of the muscle memory of our learners,” he added.
(Our earthquake drills are paying off. Our children already know what to do, the duck-cover-and-hold. We hope that these drills to address human-induced incidents like this would also be part of the muscle memory of our learners.)