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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DepEd to launch 'active shooter drills' after Tacloban school gun attack

DepEd to launch 'active shooter drills' after Tacloban school gun attack

Published Jul 8, 2026 11:44 am

At A Glance

  • The drill will be launched on Friday, July 10
  • It will serve as an automatic protocol that will be followed to ensuere safety of learners, school personnel
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara (DepEd photo)
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara (DepEd photo)
The Department of Education will be launching a safety drill for students in cases of gun attacks and other violent incidents in the schools following the incident that happened in Tacloban City that left three learners dead and 20 others injured.
Dubbed as active shooting drills, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said the program will be launched on Friday, July 10, using a safety protocol that was drafted and finalized following the Tacloban City incident wherein the shooters are two students.
“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,” said Angara in an interview in a school-based feeding program activity in Pulilan, Bulacan.
“The drill will focus on the things that should be done when there is a school shooting. We will be launching that on Friday,“ he added.
According to Angara, the active shooter drill will serve as an automatic protocol that will be followed by the school authorities to protect the learners and the rest of the people in the school in cases of gun attack.
The Tacloban City incident was the first mass shooting in a school in the country, perpetrated by two Grade 9 students, both stole the firearms they used from their relatives.
Based on the police account, it was the 14-year old student who stole a handgun from his policewoman aunt who fired around 40 shots targeting students that include friends and classmates.
Three students died of gunshots and of the 20 injured students, 15 of them were bulletwounds.
Following the incident, DepEd initiated a dialogue with the Philippine National Police (PNP) which committed all-out support in coming up with security measures in the schools.
Aside from police visibility outside of the school premises, PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr. also backed the proposal to tap guidance counselors for traumatized students and even volunteered to set up anti-bullying desks in every police stations.
On the part of Angara, he said that they will also seek the assistance from the PNP in dealing with bomb threats in schools.
While some schools would automatically suspend classes, Angara said there were some schools that would immediately seek police assistance before deciding on whether or not classes would be suspended.
He said there is also a need to come up with a protocol that will focus on the safety and welfare of not only learners but also teachers and all the other school personnel.

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