DepEd Order 053, s. 2022
Mandatory Unannounced Earthquake and Fire Drills in Schools
09 DEC 2022
DepEd ORDER
No. 053, s. 2022
MANDATORY UNANNOUNCED EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE DRILLS IN SCHOOLS
To: Undersecretaries
Assistant Secretaries
Minister, Basic, Higher, and Technical Education, BARMM
Bureau, Service, and Regional Directors
Schools Division/City Superintendents
Public Elementary and Secondary School Heads
All Others Concerned
1. Located within the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire”, the Philippines is prone to natural disasters and earthquakes. These natural hazards, coupled with vulnerabilities, increase the risk of disasters in schools and communities.
2. Aside from natural disasters, man-made catastrophes also pose serious risks and threats to the safety and security of the students, teachers, and other school personnel.
3. Emergencies and calamities may strike anywhere and anytime. Thus, having an effective preparedness plan is the key in preventing disasters and saving lives. Accordingly, local drills and simulation exercises are preventive measures that familiarize escape routes and reinforce proper actions in the occurrence of a calamity. Frequent practice of these drills and exercises would eventually turn these actions into automatic reflexes that would manifest during an actual calamity.
4. Pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 10121 entitled The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, which promotes the development of capacities in disaster management at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels; aligned with the Department’s commitment of ensuring the safety and well-being of its learners and school personnel, all public schools are hereby required to conduct unannounced earthquake and fire drills every first and third week of every month.
5. The School Heads, with the assistance of School Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Coordinators, shall spearhead the planning, implementation, and regular monitoring of these drills in their respective schools. These drills are to ensure that all learners are properly guided on what should be done during and after an earthquake or occurrences of fire in schools.
6. All schools in the National Capital Region, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, and Bulacan, shall create a separate and specific disaster plan for a magnitude 7 or higher earthquake. The plan shall specifically lay down the response should there be a scenario involving mass casualties of learners and personnel.
7. Schools shall refer to DepEd Order (DO) No. 27, s. 2015 titled Promoting Family Earthquake Preparedness, for materials that may be used by learners and their families as guide in. the preparation before, during, and after the occurrence of an earthquake.
8. Private schools, community learning centers, as well as state/local universities and colleges (SUCs/LUCs) may choose to adopt the provisions of this DO as basis in the conduct of their own earthquake and fire drills for the disaster preparedness of their students.
9. Immediate dissemination of and strict compliance with this Order is directed.
(SGD) SARA Z. DUTERTE
Vice President of the Philippines
Secretary of the Department of Education
Reference:
DepEd Order No. 27, s. 2015
To be indicated in the Perpetual Index
Under the following subjects:
BUREAUS AND OFFICES
CALAMITY
EMPOLYEES
LEARNERS
OFFICIALS
POLICY
SAFETY EDUCATION
SCHOOLS
TEACHERS
Full copy of DepEd Order No. 053, s. 2022 below:
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