Malacañang said Monday it opposes the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency proposal to conduct random drug testing on elementary pupils, which would violate the children’s rights.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the Palace supports the Department of Education in opposing drug testing in primary schools.
In a press briefing, Roque said the country’s dangerous drugs law only authorizes random drug testing for secondary and college students.
“The Palace will defer to the position of the DepEd. Education Secretary Leonor Briones has already stated that drug testing to elementary school children is not allowed under the Dangerous Drugs Act,” Roque said.
The DepEd official said subjecting such young pupils to drug testing may not only be detrimental to them psychologically but could also violate their rights.
The Palace spokesman said that the campaign against drugs is among the priorities of President Rodrigo Duterte but the new proposal is not agreeable.
Earlier, PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino proposed mandatory drug testing among teachers and students in Grade 4 and up because the agency had arrested three teachers who were peddling illegal drugs, and some children, the youngest of which was 10 years old.
Duterte’s spokesman also cited the United States has also struck down drug testing on school children as unconstitutional.
Opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan, Liberal Party president, said a law would need to be passed to impose mandatory drug testing for children as young as 10 years old.
“We propose that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency shelve this slapdash and panicky plan trained on little children, and instead go after the big drug lords to stop the flow of illegal drugs,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
“We join the critics of the idea, led by the Department of Education, because such a move is illegal, a waste of money and resources, and has a prejudiced approach to the problem of illegal drugs in the country.”
The DepEd has estimated that conducting drug tests on 14 million students from Grade 4 to Grade 12 alone would cost at least P2.8 billion.