THE Office of Civil Defense-Davao Region (OCD-Davao) is proposing mandatory Incident Command System (ICS) executive training for school principals and campus administrators to bolster disaster preparedness and security across the region.
Under National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) guidelines and Republic Act 10121, the Incident Command System serves as the country’s official on-scene emergency management framework. It establishes a standardized organizational structure during crises such as earthquakes, fires, medical emergencies, or security threats.
During a press conference at The Royal Mandaya Hotel on August 19, 2026, OCD-Davao Regional Director Ednar Dayanghirang emphasized that securing learning institutions requires a unified strategy beyond typical classroom safety drills.
"I agree with DepEd na it should be a whole-of-government, whole-of-nation, whole-of-society approach kini nga problema kay dili lang ni sa school (because this problem is not only a problem of the school)," Dayanghirang said.
Under the framework presented to the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), basic and tertiary learning institutions will establish campus-based Incident Management Teams (IMTs). The IMT acts as the school's operational execution unit under the ICS structure, trained to handle evacuations, emergency response, and direct coordination with local disaster offices.
"Ang (The) principal has to undergo the executive course sa (in) ICS, then i-organize niya ang IMT sa bawat campus (he will organize the IMT in every campus). So, every campus naay (there is) response unit nga (that is) trained, dili lang sa (not only in the) disaster, but pwede na ipasok ang sa (could also include the) security aspect," Dayanghirang explained.
OCD-11 emphasized that the framework relies on existing school personnel and requires no extra manpower costs for schools or local governments.
"Dili man sila maggasto'g dugang ani nga personnel kay in-house na man sa bawat campus nga i-strengthen ang security and disaster preparedness through the ICS system (They don’t need to spend for additionalpersonnel since all they need to do for their in-house personnel is just to strengthen their security and disaster preparedness through the ICS system)," Dayanghirang noted, adding that teaching staff, non-teaching employees, and Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) leaders can be part of the campus IMT.
The initiative expands on campus resilience rollouts previously implemented in Davao City, the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos), and parts of Davao del Norte.
OCD-Davao aims to scale the standardized response framework region-wide across all elementary, secondary, and higher education institutions. GRS
