The Department of Education (DepEd) has ordered all public and private elementary and secondary schools across the Philippines to conduct a simultaneous active attack safety drill at exactly 9 a.m. on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.
The directive was issued through a memorandum dated August 12, signed by Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Fatima Lipp D. Panontongan of the Office of the Secretary and Procurement. Each school is to run the exercise based on its own localized School Contingency Plan for Active Attack Incidents, with the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) providing standard templates and reference materials.
What Schools Must Have Ready Before the Drill
The memorandum directs schools to develop, review, or update their contingency plans and share the approved copy with their local government unit, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the parent-teacher association. Plans must be approved by the school head and acknowledged by the schools division superintendent.
Required preparedness measures include double-locking mechanisms or other classroom security measures, posted information materials, designated safe rooms, evacuation routes, emergency communication procedures, and identified family reunification areas.
Each school must also invite at least one representative from the local government, PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection, local disaster risk reduction office, or another emergency response agency to serve as an external evaluator, and must activate its School DRRM Team for the exercise.
Ceremonial Venues and Schools That Cannot Participate on Aug. 25
Regional DRRM coordinators will each designate one school in their region as the ceremonial venue for the simultaneous drill, with the full list included in an annex to the memorandum. All other schools are strongly encouraged to hold drills on the prescribed date or on an adjusted schedule.
Schools unable to conduct the drill on August 25 must immediately notify their division DRRM coordinator, providing a reason and a proposed alternative date. Schools that have already conducted the drill before August 25 are no longer required to repeat it but must still submit documentation.
Reports are to be filed through an online form and must include an accomplished evaluation form, photo and video documentation, and the updated contingency plan. Expenses are chargeable against local funds, school Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), or other available funds, subject to existing accounting and auditing rules.
Drill Must Be Trauma-Informed and Age-Appropriate
DepEd reminded schools that the drill must prioritize the safety and psychological well-being of learners and personnel. The agency specified that simulation activities must be age-appropriate, trauma-informed, and focused on preparedness, protective actions, coordinated response, and post-incident recovery.
Order Comes Amid Back-to-Back School Shooting Incidents
The memorandum was signed six days before a shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University's junior high school campus on August 18 that left two students dead, including the alleged gunman, and others wounded, according to South China Morning Post. The order also came almost two months after a school shooting in Tacloban City in June, where three people were killed in an attack carried out by two minor students, as reported by Philstar.com.
DepEd Undersecretary Malcolm Garma told a Senate hearing on August 20 that the department had completed the drill protocols with the PNP after initially testing them at Manila Science High School, where the agency launched its first active shooter safety drill on July 15 as part of the National Safe Schools Summit, according to BusinessWorld. Garma said a major component of the protocol is the reunification stage, where students, parents, medical responders, and police proceed to designated areas instead of converging around the school.
PNP chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has said the police force will mobilize sufficient personnel and resources for the nationwide drills, Philstar.com reported.
Budget Line Item Planned for 2027
DepEd said it plans to make school safety measures a line item in its 2027 budget proposal, according to Newswatchplus, signaling an intent to institutionalize and fund such programs beyond the current directive.
By the Numbers
- August 12, 2026 — Date the DepEd memorandum was issued
- 9 a.m., August 25, 2026 — Scheduled simultaneous drill time (Tuesday)
- 6 days — Gap between the memorandum signing and the Zamboanga school shooting on August 18
- 2 students killed — Including the alleged gunman, in the Ateneo de Zamboanga University shooting
- 3 people killed — In the Tacloban City school shooting in June
- July 15 — Date of DepEd's first active shooter drill at Manila Science High School
- August 20 — Date Undersecretary Garma testified at a Senate hearing on the drill protocols
Why This Matters
The nationwide drill comes in the immediate aftermath of two deadly school shooting incidents in the Philippines within roughly two months, exposing gaps in school safety preparedness. With the PNP committing personnel and DepEd planning to embed school safety in its 2027 budget, the August 25 exercise marks a significant institutional shift in how the country approaches the protection of students and school personnel. The trauma-informed requirement also signals a recognition that poorly conducted drills can themselves cause psychological harm to learners.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of DepEd