The School Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Manual is the Department of Education’s guide for putting school safety into practice. It explains the Comprehensive DRRM in Basic Education Framework that DepEd Order No. 37, s. 2015 adopted, and the tools a school uses under it, with “a particular focus on School Disaster Management (Pillar 2)”. It is written for school administrators, the school planning team and the school DRRM team, and its foreword is signed by Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC. DepEd’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) gave technical guidance, and its reviewers included an adviser from Save the Children Philippines and a consultant for UNICEF Philippines. The manual calls itself “a common template for localization, contextualization, and adaptation at the sub-national context.”
The download holds the manual’s two booklets as two PDFs. Booklet 1 sets out the framework; Booklet 2 gives the steps, checklists and forms. DepEd’s Publications page lists both.
Is the School DRRM Manual still current?
Yes, as guidance. As of November 8, 2026, DO 37, s. 2015 and DepEd’s DRRM coordination protocol, DO 21, s. 2015, are still in force, and DO 022, s. 2024 has rehabilitation after a disaster align with DO 37. The orders are the rules; the manual is guidance, and some of what it cites has changed:
- The school DRRM coordinator. Booklet 2 has the school head lead the school DRRM team and name a teaching or non-teaching alternate focal person. DO 033, s. 2021 now requires a coordinator other than the school head, “Whenever feasible” a non-teaching staff member, and an alternate (paras. 13 and 14). DO 002, s. 2024 lists School DRRM among the administrative tasks removed from teachers.
- Class suspensions. Booklet 1 points to DO 43, s. 2012. Suspensions now follow DO 022, s. 2024 and Executive Order No. 130, s. 2026.
- The Education Continuity Plan. Continuity planning now follows the Learning and Service Continuity Plan (LSCP) of DO 022, s. 2024, which DO 014, s. 2026 has schools prepare before each school year begins and update every term (para. 25).
- Brigada Eskwela. Booklet 2’s safety checklist and kit list cite DM 41, s. 2015; the 2026 Brigada Eskwela used the School Preparedness Checklist of DM 027, s. 2026 (Annex A).
The Rapid Assessment of Damages Report (RADaR), due within 72 hours of a hazard, still follows DO 21, s. 2015.
What the booklets cover
Booklet 1 covers the background (school hazards, the manual’s purpose, key definitions and its users), the framework’s legal basis and support structures, the 19 tasks it lists for the school DRRM team under DO 21, s. 2015, and the three pillars:
- Safe Learning Facilities: identifying and assessing risks, and indicators of a safe learning environment.
- School Disaster Management: leadership and coordination, the team’s core functions, an information management protocol, community and learner participation, staff training, and an Education Continuity Plan.
- Risk Reduction and Resilience Education: DRRM in the K to 12 curriculum, co-curricular activities and drills, learning materials, and the National Greening Program.
Booklet 2 turns the pillars into four steps that follow the School Improvement Plan (SIP) cycle:
- Assess (know your risks): student-led school watching and hazard mapping, community hazard maps, building and fire safety inspection, the school’s education data, and a school risk assessment.
- Plan (reduce your risks, prepare to respond and ensure education continuity): DRRM in the SIP, the school DRRM team and its tasks, early warning, emergency numbers, a student-family reunification plan, temporary learning spaces, evacuation procedures, drills at least four times a year, response and recovery kits, and a family preparedness plan.
- Implement your plan: monitoring the hazard’s effects, tracking personnel, reunifying learners with families, cleaning up, using the school as an evacuation center, resuming classes, and psychosocial support.
- Monitor, evaluate and report: reviewing safety measures, feeding results into planning, learning from past disasters, and reporting interventions.
The checklists and forms in Booklet 2
| Checklist or form | Used for | Step |
|---|---|---|
| School Watching Checklist | Learners marking unsafe spots in the school, under DO 23, s. 2015 | 1 |
| School Safety and Preparedness Guide | Brigada Eskwela repairs and preparations, by pillar | 2 |
| Education Continuity Plan | Make-up days, another site, other modes of teaching, extra staff, clean-up, and use of the school as a shelter | 2 |
| Emergency Procedures Decision Tree | Choosing among evacuation, shelter-in-place, lockdown, assembling outside, moving to safer grounds and reunification | 2 |
| Teacher Checklist | Preparing teachers, learners and parents for drills | 2 |
| Family Preparedness Plan | Personnel preparing their own households | 2 |
| Resumption of Classes Checklist | Losses, teachers available and support needed after an emergency | 3 |
| School Status Report Form | Each adviser accounting for the class after an evacuation | 3 and 4 |
| School Disaster Readiness and Resilience Checklist | Reviewing the school’s safety measures | 4 |
| DRR Education Monitoring Checklist | Checking what learners know about hazards and risk reduction, and the drill procedures they can follow | 4 |
Why it matters for aspiring school heads
School safety is strand 2.5 of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH, DO 024, s. 2020), in Domain 2, Managing School Operations and Resources: at Career Stage 1, indicator 2.5.1 asks for knowledge of the policies on school safety for disaster preparedness, mitigation and resiliency “in ensuring continuous delivery of instruction”. The manual’s link to the SIP draws on strand 1.2, school planning and implementation, in Domain 1, Leading Strategically, and its work with parents, the barangay and the local DRRM council on strand 5.5, community engagement, in Domain 5, Building Connections.
For the orders behind the steps, read the school DRRM guide. The School Improvement Plan guide covers the planning cycle the manual follows, and the El Niño continuity guide applies the LSCP and DRRM plans to the 2026 El Niño.