PH anti-drug agency wants mandatory drug testing for students Grades 4 and up

A public school classroom in the Philippines. (Photo from ABS-CBN News)
A public school classroom in the Philippines. (Photo from ABS-CBN News)

The Philippines has been under President Rodrigo Duterte’s narcotics crackdown since he took office in 2016 and while it has mostly gone after street peddlers, the government now plans to bring its crusade to elementary schools.

Yesterday, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino said that they plan to hold yearly drug tests for students in Grades 4 and up as a way to keep the youth away from illegal drugs.

If implemented, the tests will be mandatory for all public and private school students and teachers.

In the Philippines, Grade 4 students are typically 10 years old. And if testing them for drugs sounds crazy to you, you’re not alone.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Gwen Pimentel said that it could harm the students’ rights.

“The right to privacy for one. The right to consent. They have to be informed why are they being tested like this,” she said. “We have to be very conscious of not infringing on the rights of these children and there has to be safeguards and guidelines in doing so.”

Currently, the Philippines’ Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 only includes random drug testing on high school and college students.

The Department of Education (DepEd) isn’t very keen on the idea either.

“It has to be on the high school level, not those in Grade 4. President Duterte’s instructions involving Grade 4 students is to enhance the curriculum on drugs,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones told ABS-CBN News in Filipino.

However, Aquino said the drug tests on elementary school students are necessary because children as young as 10 could be involved with drugs.

“In the series of arrests that we do, teachers and students are involved. The youngest that we [arrested] is I think 10 years old,” he told reporters in Filipino.

He also assured that the results of the tests will be confidential.

Apart from the drug tests, the PDEA also plans to create a subject that will teach students about illegal drugs and its effects.

According to GMA News, the agency is working with the Dangerous Drugs Board in crafting regulations for the proposal.

The PDEA also hopes to coordinate with the Department of Education and other agencies in creating guidelines for the program.



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