ACT: Spend on teachers, not drug tests

“A big waste of people’s money.” Instead of using state funds for the mandatory drug testing of pupils and teachers, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines urged the government to use the money to increase the salaries of teachers and address shortage of education resources in public schools nationwide.

“The proposed drug-testing is so off-tangent of the most pressing issues in schools and is a big waste of people’s money,” said ACT Philippines SecretaryGeneral Raymond Basilio. “Our urgent need is to be alleviated from the grueling crises in our economic situation and in our educational system,” he added.

Basilio also questioned the basis of the drug testing proposal of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) saying that the agency is “capitalizing a handful of information about drug use among pupils and teachers to force a blanket mandatory drug test in schools.”

Instead of conducting drug tests, Basilio said the Duterte administration should “act on our pay hike demand when the situation clearly warrants it and there is a popular clamor from teachers.”

Last Friday, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, a known administration ally, called the move of PDEA as “pointless” and lamented how the government will foot the huge cost of such an undertaking. “That is pointless because what is the use of the test result? If positive, then what? And how many false or wrong positives and even negatives will our system produce?” Pimentel told reporters in a message.

“Malakihang gastos lang yan (It would just cost a lot), hence I’m interested to know who came up with such a ‘brilliant’ idea. Ginawang mandatory para talagang malakihang gastos (He made it mandatory to ensure large allocation),” he added.

But, a Catholic Church leader yesterday expressed his support for the proposed mandatory drug testing in schools.

San Jose Nueva Ecija Bishop Roberto Mallari, Chairman of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)Episcopal Commission, said PDEA’s move will prevent the children from being involved in illegal drug activities. (With reports from Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola and Analou de Vera)