The Department of Education will begin conducting active shooter drills in public schools nationwide following the fatal shooting at a high school in Tacloban City, Education Secretary Sonny Angara announced.
Angara said the new safety protocol was prompted by the June 22 shooting at San Jose National High School, where two teenage suspects allegedly opened fire, leaving three students dead and 20 others injured.
“We are adjusting because we have the first-ever school shooting, which means students were the shooters. So we are now doing the active shooter drill,” Angara told reporters during a school feeding activity in Pulilan.
He said the drills, set to be launched on Friday, will train students, teachers, and school personnel on the appropriate response during an active shooter incident.
According to Angara, schools will adopt an “automatic protocol” to ensure a coordinated response in the event of a campus shooting.
Earlier, Baguio City announced plans to conduct similar drills following the Tacloban incident.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong noted that while students are trained to evacuate during earthquakes, different safety measures are needed during armed attacks, as fleeing students could be exposed to gunfire.
