DepEd postpones Aug. 25 nationwide active shooter drills in schools
The Department of Education has deferred the nationwide safety drill set for Aug. 25 following calls from the Philippine Psychiatric Association and the Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to postpone the activity.
In an interview with DZMM on Monday, Aug. 24, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the Nationwide Simultaneous School Safety Drill for Active Attack Incidents will no longer push through as scheduled.
"Ipagpapaliban na namin 'yung drill namin dahil makakaantay naman 'yun. Kasi nakikinig kami sa eksperto at nirerespeto natin 'yung kanilang pananaw. Definitely ii-incorporate natin 'yung mga comments nila," Angara said.
"Kahit nakasalang na 'yan, wala namang mawawala sa atin kung mag-antay tayo ng konting panahon," he added.
On Aug. 22, the PPA and PSCAP issued a joint statement calling for a deferment of DepEd's plans as, the organizations explained, "Preparedness in schools is essential, but the methods chosen must be trauma-informed and grounded in evidence.
The organizations wrote that simulating a live shooter attack in schools is different from other safety drills, such as those preparing students and personnel for earthquakes or fires.
"Simulated active-attack exercises expose learners to hyper-realistic scenarios of violence," the statement read.
"Current evidence does not show that these simulations reduce casualties or prevent incidents, while multiple studies demonstrate that they can cause lasting psychological harm across age groups," it continued.
Instead of live simulations, the organizations recommended tabletop exercises, describing them as "simple, discussion-based activities where teachers, staff, and parents sit together and talk through 'what-if' scenarios."
The statement also called for a joint mental health task group, which would convene representatives from DepEd, the Department of Health, and specialty groups, such as PPA and PSCAP, "to generate Philippine-specific outcome data before any nationwide mandate is scaled."
Security in public schools
According to Angara, DepEd is implementing several upgrades in security for public schools nationwide. These measures include metal detectors for each public school, the presence of barangay tanod officials in schools, and CCTVs.
He added that security protocols must be reviewed since the presence of security guards has not stopped the past school shootings from happening.
On June 22, three students died and five individuals were injured after two other students opened fire in San Jose National High School, Tacloban. On Aug. 18, two junior high school students passed away after a shooting incident at Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
Per Angara, DepEd has received funds to hire 10,000 school counselor associates. Since these are not enough for the 48,000 public schools across the Philippines, the Department will be placing the counselors in public schools with large student populations—1,000 and up.
