PANABO CITY — In light of the recent doublet earthquakes measuring 7.4 and 6.8 magnitudes that struck the Davao Region in 2025, Davao del Norte State College (DNSC), through its Disaster Resilience Administration Committee (DRAC), Academic Affairs Unit, and Administration and Finance Unit, conducted an orientation and simulation activity for employees to strengthen preparedness and response during earthquake emergencies on October 14 – 15, 2025.
The activity aimed to familiarize participants with the Earthquake Evacuation Protocol and to highlight the role of faculty members and non-teaching personnel in ensuring student safety during such incidents. Faculty members from the Bachelor of Science in Disaster Resilience Management (BSDRM) program led the presentation of the Earthquake Evacuation Protocol, which covers several phases, including pre-disaster, during actual ground shaking, pre-evacuation, actual response and evacuation, evacuation assembly, and post-evacuation.
During the session, participants were oriented on the updated protocol, guided through a demonstration of the proper “Drop, Cover, and Hold” procedure, and engaged in a simulation activity to apply the correct emergency response in a realistic scenario.
In his opening message, Dr. Boyeth C. Pelone, DRAC chair, expressed gratitude to the college’s top management for their strong support and commitment to disaster preparedness, “We experienced an earthquake this morning, which reminds us how important it is to have orientations like this, especially as we prepare for the return of our students in the coming days. We have been conducting drills during the NSED (National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill), but we also noticed some gaps in our actual response, that’s what we aim to address through this activity.”
The orientation concluded with an open discussion where faculty members shared suggestions for improving protocols. The DRAC team took note of these recommendations and committed to refining the guidelines to further enhance DNSC’s disaster preparedness and response systems.
