Drug awareness program pushed
SEN. Juan Edgardo “Sonny ” Angara pushed for the passage of a bill creating a nationwide education and awareness program on illegal drugs to prevent drug addic tion among the youth.
The senator made the call after the Department of Education ( DepEd) opposed the plan of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency ( PDEA) to conduct mandatory drug testing for Grade 4 students.
The DepEd said the move is against the Dangerous Drugs Act that authorizes random drug testing only for high school and college students.
Teachers also blasted the PDEA proposal, saying the government’s drug war has no place in schools.
“The Duter te regime’s bloody drug war has gone beyond insane to intimate that any 9- year- old kid could be a drug suspect. We should not permit this to happen. Schools are no playground for Tokhang ,” Raymond Basilio, Alliance of Concerned Teachers secretar y general, said.
Basilio said the drug testing will sow terror in schools and destroy the sanctity of schools as safe places for learning.
Education Secretar y Leonor Briones said President Rodrigo Duter te’s directive was to enhance the curriculum on preventive drug education for children.
“We support the administration’s drive to suppress widespread use of illegal drugs through our education system,” Angara said. “If students have sufficient knowledge about the negative effects of drugs, there is a big chance for us to save them from drug addiction.”
Angara filed Senate Bill 311 on July 4, 2016 but it remained pending before the Committees on Public O rder, Local Government, and Finance.
SB 311 mandates the DepEd to create a nationwide education and awareness program on illegal drugs that will either be included in the K- to- 12 curriculum or instituted as a regular activity in all public elementar y and high schools.
It also requires the establishment of a “national helpline” for drug abuse which would refer drug users to rehabilitation centers, or in emergency cases, provide immediate paramedic response.
“Aside from jailing the pusher, the anti- drug campaign should also have a ‘ save the user’ component. We should help addicts turn over a new leaf. They need help,” Angara said.
“Without intervention, there’s a strong chance they’ll backslide to their old ways. If that happens, then we’re back to square one.”
“For young drug users who have dropped out of school and who are in rehabilitation centers, we should offer them Alternative Learning System ( ALS) programs,” he added.