School shooting interventions are now faster because the NGA 911 technology directly integrates DepEd and the PNP for faster response
Schools will be safer and help for school emergencies will come faster now that the Department of Education (DepEd) has been integrated into the country’s Unified 911 system.
A JOINT SAFETY AUDIT IN BUER
Observing the National School Safety Week, Sonny Angara, Secretary of Education, and Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla, Secretary of the Interior, conducted a joint school safety audit and safety exercise at Bangkal National High School in Makati City on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. They signed a joint memorandum circular that barangay tanods deployed in school premises.
The initiative hopes to address campus security concerns by tapping local government units to increase school security, especially for schools that do not employ professional security personnel.
Under the agreement, schools can coordinate with barangays to request the deployment of barangay tanods to maintain order and security within the school perimeter as community partners. They will align with school authorities and laws to ensure child protection, student rights and school safety.
An “Active Shooter Drill” was also conducted at Bangkal High School before the MOA signing to simulate what students, teachers and security should do in the event of a school shooting. Aside from government officials and school staff, Nancy Binay, Mayor of Makati, and the barangay tanods who patrol the schools were also present.
HOW THE UNIFIED 911 INTEGRATION WORKS
Integrated into the school safety effort is the state-of-the-art emergency response technology provided by public safety technology company NGA 911 to the DILG’s Unified 911 program. The new technology now includes DepEd in the Unified 911 security outlook so that quick response interventions and solutions can be applied in case of school violence and other emergencies.
Robert Llaguno, NGA 911 Philippines country chief and a longtime advocate for a national public safety system, said the link between DepEd and the DILG will allow schools to use the technology and gadgets that DILG currently uses. He cites communication devices that allow voice and video calls so that callers can see the responder on the other end of the line. Answers can also send photos and videos to callers.
According to Llaguno, the new cooperation system will enable a parallel workflow. As emergencies happen, the report is sent to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and DepEd simultaneously so they can respond together and make faster decisions on the call.
The central, regional and school division office of the Department of Education also processes and validates the incident, so report processing that normally takes weeks can be completed in a day. Information storage is centralized.
A SOCIETY APPROACH
“A truly effective emergency response system requires the combined efforts of national and local governments along with private and public sectors, and civilian and uniformed services,” said Llaguno. He said that this synergistic approach is needed to combat the huge problem of abuse and violence in schools.