MEDINA, Misamis Oriental — Knowing what to do during a school emergency could make a difference when seconds count.
About 3,200 learners and teaching and non-teaching personnel of Medina National Comprehensive High School (MNCHS) took part in a 30-minute safety drill Thursday morning, September 3, practicing how to respond to a simulated active-threat incident on campus.
Rey Anthony S. Dahilan, MNCHS disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) school coordinator, said the exercise aimed to familiarize the school community with appropriate actions during emergencies and help ensure that learners and personnel know where to go and whom to follow when an actual crisis occurs.
The participants, from the junior and senior high school departments, carried out the drill simultaneously across classrooms in the school's three new buildings.
The exercise began after a supposed aggressive intruder was detected near the school's external perimeter. The incident was reported to the school head, triggering the activation of the Incident Management Team and DRRM Team.
A lockdown alert was then announced through the school's public address system. Security personnel secured the gates while teachers kept learners inside their classrooms.
When the simulated threat breached the perimeter and moved toward a classroom wing, participants practiced the RUN-HIDE-FIGHT response.
Those away from the simulated threat were directed to designated safe or off-site reunification areas when conditions allowed. Those closer to the simulated danger practiced securing classrooms, staying quiet and minimizing visibility.
The drill also tested coordination with the Philippine National Police and other emergency responders.
Participants practiced providing critical information such as the school's location, building or room number, number of people involved and simulated casualty information.
Responding police personnel proceeded to the simulated hot zone, while learners and school personnel were reminded to remain calm, keep their hands visible and follow instructions from responding officers.
After the simulated “ALL CLEAR,” participants moved to the designated reunification area, where the Incident Management Team accounted for learners and personnel using class rosters.
The exercise also included a simulated process for releasing learners to authorized guardians after identity verification.
Medina Chief of Police PCapt. Teddy Macarayo and his team, along with personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection-Medina, joined the drill.
The safety framework also calls for the immediate suspension of classes during a crisis, assessment of learners' and personnel's well-being, gradual resumption of learning through modified arrangements, and a return to regular face-to-face classes once authorities determine that conditions are safe.
Dahilan said involving the entire school community is important because preparedness goes beyond knowing an emergency procedure.
It means ensuring that learners, teachers and school personnel know how to respond, where to move and how to account for one another when an actual emergency happens.
