Random drug testing for HS students mulled
The Department of Education (DepEd) is planning to conduct random drug testing on high school students in support of the Duterte government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones issued a memorandum directing the conduct of train- ing and orientation for public school officials in preparation for the conduct of drug testing for teachers and students.
“DepEd, in support of the
current administration’s thrust against illegal drugs, is stepping up its efforts to implement various activities in line with its National Drug Education Program,” Briones said.
“Among the s e is the planned drug testing of secondary students, elementary and secondary teachers, and personnel from central, regional and school division offices,” she added.
In the memorandum, DepEd said the orientation training for school officials will provide awareness on the legal and regulatory aspect of drug testing. It will serve as the platform for the formulation of an action plan on how to conduct the testing.
Participants will also be trained on specimen collection and validity testing, as well as documentation and recording of the process.
They will also be provided with information on assessment and intervention on students who will test positive.
The three- day training, which will be held in eight clusters in March and April, will include two participants from regional offices, six from division offices, 10 facilitators or resource speakers and six secretariat personnel from the central office.
Details on the conduct of the random drug testing for students have yet to be released.
But in a previous interview, Briones said the DepEd is coordinating with different agencies, including the Department of Health, regarding the drug testing.
The DepEd also has to get the consent of parents as the agency will deal with minors.
“We have to be very careful (when dealing with the youth) because they might think they are being suspected of something… It has to be sampling, and there should be consent from the parents,” she said in a radio interview.
The government’s war on drugs was President Durterte’s campaign promise. But the campaign has been marked by summary killings and human rights violations, drawing flak from the international community and human rights groups.
Since Duterte assumed the presidency, over 7,000 drug suspects have been killed in police operations and vigilante killings.
Last month, Duterte suspended police operations on the drug war and passed on to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) the conduct of the drug war after state investigators found that police officers used the war on drugs as a cover up for the kidnap-slay of Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo.
Police officers abducted Jee and killed him inside the Philippine National Police (PNP) national headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City but still asked for ransom from his wife.
Jee’s body was cremated in a nearby funeral parlor and his ashes were flushed down the toilet.
Probe on killings to continue
Human rights group Amnesty International reported that the government’s antidrug war did not stop as cases of deaths under investigation (DUI) has reached 4,076 as of Feb. 13.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said yesterday the cases of DUI would continue despite the withdrawal of the police in the drug war.
“We expect the killings in anti-drug operation. But based on records, the cases of DUI have gone down as compared to the previous months where the PNP was still taking the lead in the drug war,” NCRPO Director Oscar Albayalde said.
Albayalde noted that the killing of drug suspects will not stop whether the PDEA or PNP is taking the lead in the drug war.
“For as long as they will fight back, there would be killing,” he said.
Albayalde also said the NCRPO has resolved more than 200 DUI cases in Metro Manila over the past months as the police have identified the persons behind the vigilante killing spree.
“We are not standing pat on this, especially now that we have identified the persons behind the DUI cases in the metropolis,” he said.
Despite the recent killings, the government will not put a halt on the war against illegal drugs “with the condition of the country where some politicians are behind the drug trade,” he added.
Meanwhile, PDEA director general Isidro Lapeña bared yesterday that the agency has purchased high- tech equipment to be used in the drug war.
“We were able to get 100 percent assistance (from the Office of the President), funds for firearms for everybody. You will now have a Glock 21 and you will also have firearms to be used even when you are soaked in deep waters, which you cannot do with the M16 armalite rifle,” Lapeña said during his visit to the PDEA regional office in San Fernando City, La Union.
He also said PDEA agents will have night vision equipment and protective gear like bullet resistance vests and helmets, as well as medical insurance.
“Our problem with the lack of lawyers, don’t worry. We were able to have a budget for legal assistance or for the hiring of lawyers to help in various cases in PDEA and even for their acceptance fees,” Lapeña said.