Republic of the Philippines

Philippine National School for the Blind

Schools Division Office - Pasay City

PNSB participates in the third Nationwide Shake Drill More than a hundred visually impaired learners and 50 teaching and non-teaching staff of PNSB joined the 3rd National Simultaneous Earth Quake Drill August 16 to ensure the “SAFETY FIRST” policy of the school in case of a strong earthquake. At exactly 2:00 pm, School Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee (SDRRMC) representatives headed by its Focal Person Mrs. Olivia T. Gutierrez sounded the bell as the start of the unannounced drill. All learners, their teachers, other PNSB staff, and those people present inside the campus during the disaster drill immediately performed the “Drop, Cover, and Hold” procedures for about a minute or until the shaking stops before everybody gathered safely in the school ground, the designated evacuation area in times the real strong earthquake hit. Even before the earthquake drill was simulated, PNSB teaching and non-teaching personnel headed by their Principal Mrs. Corazon B. Salvador with the assistance of the SDRRMC Focal Person Mrs. Gutierrez had worked out to ensure that everybody particularly those with visual impairment will be able to reached the evacuation area without getting hurt due to clogged emergency exits during the height of an earthquake. It was made sure by the SDRRM that entire school surroundings will be accessible to the visually impaired learners and staff at large. This event also Flashed the abilities of the different suborganizations of SDRRMC such as the Batang Emergency Response Team (BERT) as they simulated the proper way of responding to emergency situations rescuing an injured person, performing the basic survival aid, and retrieving trapped individual to safety.   The whole simulation was concluded by the constructive evaluation of what had transpired from the beginning till the end of the drill. Suggestions and observations were raised and were given appropriate actions. In general, according to the learners and staff, the drill was a success. Mrs. Gutierrez underscored in her concluding statement, “earthquakes can never be predicted, being prepared is the key; it spells the difference for the safety of every single one regardless of physical condition.”