Nearly two thousand pupils and their teachers at the Virac Pilot Elementary School joined the National Simultaneous School Safety Drill conducted by the Department of Education (DepEd) last Sept. 3, 2026 to strengthen institutional preparedness against active threat scenarios.
Once an ambulance sounded its siren, learners helped their teachers practice important safety measures: securing doors, finding safe hiding spots away from windows, and reviewing escape routes in case of emergencies.
In one classroom, the pupils shut the glass jalousie windows while the teacher closed the door and locked it before the learners huddled behind the teacher’s table while in another room, the pupils lay prone beside their chairs.
Prior to the drill, the Virac Municipal Police Station, led by chief of police PMaj. Kenneth Ding Gutierrez conducted a briefing at the VPES main building lobby for teachers and other school employees.
Also explaining safety protocols were personnel of the Virac Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) while a team from the Bureau of Fire Protection were on hand to assist in the drill.
The PNP, Virac MDRRMO and BFP personnel checked each classroom for the occupants’ compliance with the drill’s safety measures.
Originally planned as a simulation exercise, the drill was rescheduled and scaled down to ensure strict safeguards for learners’ psychological and physical well-being, without causing unnecessary fear or distress among students.
Consultations were made with medical and mental health organizations, including the Philippine Psychiatric Association, the Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Philippine Pediatric Society to make sure that safety protocols are aligned with child-centered and trauma-informed standards under DepEd’s “Do No Harm” directive.
Ahead of the drill, participating schools conducted capacity-building sessions for teachers, readiness assessments and age-appropriate orientations for learners.
School heads and teachers were also required to provide advance notice to learners, parents and school personnel to ensure psychological preparedness and prevent surprise.
Under the drill, students will undergo step-by-step walkthroughs of basic protective actions, including securing entry points, practicing silent concealment away from windows and reviewing evacuation routes. Special arrangements will be made for learners with disabilities and sensory sensitivities.
Under existing disaster risk reduction guidelines, the drill will prohibit hyper-realistic or fear-inducing elements, including threat simulations, active aggressor role-players, bladed or blunt weapons, firearms, pyrotechnics, simulated gunfire and artificial casualties.
A distinct signal, separate from earthquake or fire alarms, will be used to start the exercise.
Psychological first aid and post-drill debriefings will be conducted after the drill, with learners requiring specialized mental health support will be referred through arrangements with schools division offices, local government units and health facilities.
Coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP) was supposed to be limited to external perimeter security, testing emergency dispatch response times and post-incident learner tracking.
On the other hand, police personnel were prohibited from conducting tactical disarming drills involving students or using aggressive uniform displays. (with a report from PNA)