Community cooperation highlights AGS Emergency Drill

On Wednesday, 7 January 2026, the Ateneo de Manila Grade School (AGS) took part in a successful emergency drill designed to test the community’s disaster preparedness and evacuation protocols.

The drill was a large-scale exercise involving all Basic Education schools, with the Grade School demonstrating a high level of engagement and discipline. A total of 2,623 students and employees from AGS participated in the evacuation and fetching simulation. The majority of students were successfully picked up by their parents or designated guardians at the assigned Emergency Pick-up Points (EPPs). By the end of the simulation, only 23 students remained unfetched. These students were supervised by security guards in designated dismissal areas until their guardians arrived, ensuring that 100% of the student population was accounted for.

The AGS Local Unit Emergency Response Team (LUERT) noted several positive outcomes from the exercise:

Evacuation efficiency: Students exited buildings and reached their assembly areas within minutes of the alarm.

System testing: The drill effectively tested the fetching system, a critical process during real emergencies to ensure students are released only to authorized individuals.

Community readiness: The low number of unfetched students at the conclusion of the drill highlighted the strong cooperation between the school and the parent community.

The success of the drill was made possible through the careful planning and teamwork of the Campus Safety and Mobility Office (CSMO) and the Basic Education LUERTs, as well as the cooperation and support of the entire AGS community— students, teachers, Health Services personnel, staff, parents, custodians, cafeteria personnel, and security guards.